On May 13th, Melissa and I celebrated our 11 year anniversary! Yay! 
It’s an anniversary of sorts as we are not actually married, but just because we aren’t, doesn’t mean what we have and what we worked to building together doesn’t count! I know some people are more traditional an believe marriage is the appropriate step to take with your significant other, but that “mentality” just never appealed to Melissa or myself. And I’m not starting a religious argument here (that would be a waste of time) as we chose to for go both the holy sacrament of marriage from our catholic upbringing and the legal eagle city hall wedding alternative.
Why? Well…that’s none of your damn business! 
Actually we just always had other things we’ve wanted to put our time and money in. Moving out of our parents house into an apartment, then into a house, then a baby (Sam!), careers, trips, etc, the list goes on. We all have our own priorities in life, and we’re happy they way things are right now. Now that’s not to say one day, in the next few years, we may want to get married, but to do so in a church would be a little
hypocritical as our Sunday morning are for sleeping in and breakfast in bed (waffles anybody?!?). We prefer a nice beach/tropical/island wedding! A nice, relaxing event with close family and friends, that would end with a dip in the big blue… preferably the Caribbean, and would lead into a beach party lasting until dawn. Now that’s our idea of a wedding. Leave Gods&Laws aside, and bring a wedding back to what we should be celebrating: love, fun, a life shared and… food!
Despite that dream wedding, I know Melissa is the love of my life. I see that as plain as day, and she tells me she feels the same way (whew!) , which is a wonderful feeling. A feeling which is only stronger now that Sam is in our lives, a tie that binds us, flesh and blood, more meaningful than any marriage license could ever be! Sam truly moved our life goals and dreams into new territory, beyond the material. It’s tough to describe as it’s more of a state of mind rather than a series of emotions. Yeah yeah, getting all mushy here eh? Well, too freakin’ bad! My blog, my mush!
All this to say that Melissa has changed my life in the most amazing ways in the past 11 years.
She’s allowed me to stay true to myself while helping me through the good and bad, but always making me laugh the along the way. She’s honest and caring, beautiful and engaging, intelligent, passionate, witty… and short! 
I’m 6 ft. 2 and she’s 5 ft. 2, so we don’t always see eye to eye, but we always kiss (with Melissa on her tip-toes) and make up. So, I know she’ll be reading this, a smile on her face, which is the way I see her when I think of her. Happy and beautiful. The most brilliant star in my sky that I’m so thankful to have had light the way these past 11 years.
I only hope my love has given her the same. 
These 11 years we’ve shared have gone by so fast, with a lot of fond memories along the way. I can’t wait to see what the next 11 will bring!
Congratulations to you both!