Being Haley’s Husband, the Greatest Gift of All
I remember being 22-years-old when I met Haley, a month after finishing college and not being sure of the direction of where my life was going. No full-time job, no commitments and only 1 thing lingering in the back of my mind - a visa that was expiring in August of the next year. A relationship to me was out of the question. I was hurt badly in college, and with a timeline to my departure, I was far removed from seeking love, let alone believing it.
The day I met Haley, it was magnetic within minutes. It was electric and like nothing else I had ever experienced. She told me that she was going to be the love of my life within twenty minutes! I remember just being awe-struck talking to her, because she was breathtakingly beautiful and I always remember telling myself - the beautiful girls are rarely ever the kind ones!
I told her the day after we met that I was done with the whole "dating" scene, and the next person I went for was going to be my wife. I was very insistent about it, and persisted in trying to find challenges or hurdles that Haley would fall through. Taking her to soccer tournaments, allowing her to meet my friends - anything you could find! ANY red flags at all! I also told her how critical it was that we were best friends before I dated this "next person", because my parents always told me to marry your best friend.
Good thing we became best friends in the space of about 2 months! She became my everything - and quickly. She was annoyed that I wouldn't kiss her before then, but I can safely say by the time we started dating less than 3 months after our first interaction (and I was in England for a month of that FaceTiming her everyday) I was head over heels in love with her and would have bet my life that she was going to become my wife.
Two short years after this, one of which was spent across an ocean doing long-distance, Haley and I committed the rest of our lives to each other on September 11th 2019. I couldn't even begin to tell you how "right" it felt to be her husband, even without a wedding or a ceremony or a honeymoon.
Although many will find this puzzling, I consider myself to be one of the luckiest people alive. I get to have the experience of being married to Haley and be the only one she called her other half, and that will always be my life's greatest achievement. Haley chose me, daily, and how my heart jumped for joy everyday at that!
Naturally, with marriage, you see parts of an individual that nobody else sees. Yes - I'd have loved to watch Haley grow up, to see why she was the 21-year-old that she was in front of me. I'd have loved to have seen her sing, cheerlead, act and dance throughout high school. Yes, I'd have loved to have met her sooner, and dated her throughout college. But the ONLY Haley I knew was "Adult Haley". Fierce, driven, mature, loving and fearless Haley.
I got to experience the highs and the lows of her entire adult life. I was there through it all - all 4 years. Every moment, birthday, celebration and all we shared together, either in person or through the phone.
She is so kind. So courageous. So giving. So loving. An absolutely extraordinary human being, and the very best wife.
We packed what felt like a lifetime of marriage into the time we had. We battled through a pandemic, our first "real jobs", moving into our own house, struggles at home. We balanced each other perfectly around the house and out the house. We figured out how to compromise, how to love each other better, how to respond/react to each other in difficult situations. It couldn't have been a more comfortable, straightforward happily ever after but with the fire and the downright explosiveness that Haley's extraordinary character brought to every situation.
I didn't get my happily ever after. That will be a punch to the gut every day for the rest of my life. But Haley's taught me and made me into the man I am today - and that man is one that will shine her light for the rest of my life. I see my purpose woven through her every single time I wake up in the morning. I see the stars and the sun, the sunflowers and the ocean and I see my wife. I see empowered women, driven individuals and people challenging difficult things and I see my wife. Everything I do, I do for her. Every breath I take I take for both of us. Every life I touch, I touch in the way that she touched mine. Everytime I am grateful, I am grateful for each of us. She lives in my heart. She lives in us all.
And I promise, to each and every single one of you, that I will never give up on life, or on Haley Sue. Those words are not part of the dictionary of her life.
And I have no doubt that I will change the world. Not because of my own doing, or any talent or skill that I have but because Haley's love runs through me, her voice in my head and her character in my heart. We'll change this world together, just like we'd always planned to.
Forever Haley's,
Nat
