I love you… I. Love. You. Just three simple words… Three words that mean everything. Three beautiful words that mean so much there is no other way to say the emotion and feeling that comes from expressing it. Three words that are so scary to say… So much is put into saying those words. For someone as young as you and me to be exchanging these words there is a shadow of doubt, fear, and foolishness that is cast by everyone around us. They mock and nag and try to drag us down by telling us we don’t understand, it won’t last, it isn’t love we’re feeling… it couldn’t be. But we know better. We know that in spite of what everyone else is saying the feeling we have could be nothing other than love. I know that this has to be love because I can say it to you night and day… shouted or whispered. There is no shame, no guilt, no feeling other than love.

I. Love. You. Three words that define the roots of who I am. You are the one I want to grow old with. The one I want to laugh, cry, fight, and figure life out with.

I Love. You. Three small words that blur the lines between who we are as individuals and how as a couple we define each other. I love you. Three words that show how much I learn from you. About who you are. About who I am. You bring out the worst and rawest parts of me. You show me how terrible and human I can be. But you also bring out the best in me. The good you know I have inside, you show me how to let it shine.

I. Love. You. Three words that keep me up at night worrying and wondering about you. Are you safe? Are you happy? Are you loving the life you make?

I. Love. You. Three words that mean something new every day. They mean something more. They mean something deeper. They make the thought of losing you harder and harder to comprehend each and every moment I breathe.

I. Love. You. Three strong words that mean through all the bad the love never goes away. You annoy, anger, and frustrate me… But through it all love remains.

I. Love. You. Three small words that have shown me it’s okay when the feeling isn’t shared. It’s okay if you don’t love me, it’s okay if you don’t care. I just want you to know that I speak those three words with truth. I don’t take them lightly and neither should you.

I. Love. You. Three words that leave me so vulnerable so exposed. I mean them, I said them, they’re out there… wow look at the way they’re staring… Uh am I still wearing clothes?!

I love you… One Sentence that is all it ever takes. Please, they say, love me… despite all my mistakes.