Steph and I met about ten years ago now. She didn’t like me at first. I thought she was hot. She thought I was a meathead. I was. We sat next to each other in Human Anatomy and I fell in love with her mind, her style, her quiet, and her cheeks. I didn’t know it yet, but I did. Then we partied.
We had fun. We laughed. We cried.
Then 8 years ago we moved to Boulder together. We couldn’t make it work financially and it was a bit to uppity for us so we moved back to the Bay.
We stayed there and cuddled as the cold came. Then we both knew it was time to move South and we packed up a car and the Button and moved into a 300 square foot apartment in Austin. Texas. A place we never thought we’d be.
I taught some High School. You censused it up. We fell in love with Austin and grew up together.
Then Mario and My Fit Foods happened. The amazing whirlwind that it was.
Then the fury that is the Zipper entered our lives.
But, Button was still the glue that held it all together.
Then we bought a house. A beautiful sanctuary in the hills where we started to slow down… a little bit.
Then we got married. The most incredible day of my life.
and even on that day you kind of put up with my non-sense.
Life was still fast, but we were having fun.We also fell into the dream of Costa Rica.
Then I got a little too crazy about the FITNESS.
You just watched and didn’t judge. Wondering what happened to the man who used to write in coffee shops, endlessly watching rain?
and then came the love that is the Rue.
Then we built a gym and a finally a space for you.
I finished school, while you were crushing the Yoga and then you got #Instafamous
and I couldn’t have been more proud.
Then we found IT in the jungle and we pulled the trigger!
and now you are in LA making the fancy videos and I am at the Bay writing in a coffee shop as the rain drops flash against concrete. Happy to be back – different, but the same.
The past decade we have loved the puppies, but we can always love them more. We have loved each other. And I can always find ways to love you more, you make it easy. I do need to make you more tea in the mornings and delicious meals in the evenings, followed by walks on the beach or down to the river. We have supported each other, you better than me, but now it’s my turn. We have followed our dreams as they have settled and that isn’t going to stop. You have worked so hard for our little family. Thank you. Now let us take a year or so to just live in the jungle and recoup. These past few years have been amazingly fast and alive. Let’s slow it down. It’s what we are best at. Let’s prove to everyone and ourselves that we can live simply in the jungle. 🙂
Wedding Vows – Revisited
Dear Steph,
In five years may we always take time to just be together.
May we be a refuge to each other and continue to build a happy home in the Texas Costa Rican sun.
May we push ourselves to be better human beings and hug the puppies, accordingly.
May we find peace in the calm and the exciting moments of this life.
May we eat more avocados and go to more concerts (Not so much.. more quiet trips around Costa Rica).
May we always be patient with each other and leave judgments and assumptions at the door.
May we search out new adventures while savoring the peace and the silence.
May you still flicker your beautiful brown eyes at me when I least expect it and when you really want something.
May we love each other more with every passing day and continue to be completely honest with each other in our speech and our actions.
May we never forget to say I love you.
I Love You
Ben
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