A letter to Wheat

To Wheat on the night before we're married,

I'd like to tell you that I'm calm, collected, and excited about tomorrow's events, but you know me better than that. You know I'm freaking out inside - about little details, things we might have forgotten, chances of rain, and people who might not show up. I'm freaking out about falling during the Cha Cha Slide, crying too hard during our vows, and not having a conversation with every single one of our guests. I'm freaking out about wearing a dress all day, not stopping to soak in the moment enough, forgetting one of your relatives' names, and passing out during the ceremony. As you probably imagined, I'm freaking out about all the uncertainties, but there is one thing I'm sure of...

...and that thing is you.

Ever since I met you, you have been the one sure thing in my life. You make me laugh, push me to be a better version of myself, and make every moment I'm with you infinitely better than it would be otherwise. You've comforted me in the hard times and carried me through my grief when I couldn't walk the path alone. You laugh with me, cry with me, pray with me, dance with me, read with me, sing with me, cheer with me, and play with me. You simultaneously lift me up while keeping me grounded. You're the best part of my day and the thing I miss most the instant we part. You're the reason I love looking back, but more importantly, you're the reason I'm excited to move forward.

When I moved to Indianapolis for sports journalism graduate school, I thought I'd become a writer. I thought I'd leave a year later with a master's degree, some new friends, and a hockey writing gig. Instead, I found you, something far better than any job I could ever dream to find.

At a point that was probably far too early in our relationship for me to be saying creepy things like this, I told you that I felt like I wrote you. You seemed too good to be true - too funny, too smart, too handsome, too sweet, too romantic, too kind-hearted to be in love with me. I felt like I conjured you up in my mind, put pen to paper, and willed you into existence. But instead of being afraid that I'd lose you (which I imagined would be my subconscious natural state throughout our relationship), I felt sure. Sure that you weren't ever going away, sure that we met for a reason, and sure that I would spend the rest of my life loving you completely.

So, I transitioned from writing you to writing with you, which I assure you has been much more fun. Although the last three years have been the hardest of my life, they've also been the best, simply because you held my hand through them. You've cared for me when I was sick, wiped away my tears, put up with my celebrity crushes, slow-danced with me in the living room, introduced me to so many new, awesome things, and shown me the real definition of man meat. I can't wait to write the rest of our lives together.

You are, bar none, the best thing that's ever happened to me. I couldn't be more proud to be marrying you tomorrow.

I love you, baby bear.

- Britter