It's always been you

We started off as strangers at the Adamstown pool in the 6th grade. Kari’s mom worked the snack bar as we would cross paths throughout the summer with our rag tag group of friends. Over time those shy kids became best friends after hours of manhunt in the park, rivalry football games, and late night swims. We were inseparable either together throughout the summers, or the 1am AIM Messenger conversations during the school year. We shared our favorite songs, laughs, tears, and dreams together. We were each others person. Our friendship turned into a young love. A first love, one where we didn't know what we were doing. We were learning together but it was pure at heart. We became the one person we didn't want to live without. Even as young teenagers we knew that this was different than most kids our age running around the middle/high school hallways. Our time went on like this for summers to come until one day when everything changed. Kari’s family had moved to Montana. Even though thousands of miles separated us, we made every effort to stay in touch with each other as our bond could not be broken. Every summer Kari would come back to Pennsylvania to visit and all it took was one look into those blue eyes and that same initial feeling of our love would come flooding back. Over time this cycle would repeat over and over again until 2014. We had both grown, made mistakes, and experienced life in our own ways although one thing remained. It was still you, except now another obstacle stood in our way. Tyler had enlisted into the Navy and was getting ready to ship out to basic training. That summer Kari had come back to visit for his going away party and we sat and talked about marriage and what our life could be together once again. However this would be the last time we would see each other. Over the next 9 years those memories and experiences turned to history and faded to the background of our ever changing lives. We both have gone through a multitude of trials and tribulations that molded us into the people we have become today. Yet one thing still remained. Even after all that time, new relationships, new careers, new homes, new families... something never seemed quite right. The both of us still hung on to the memories of us together, watching from afar, and contemplating the “what could have been”. Then, when the time was right, God answered our call and allowed us to enter our lives once again. And now, a decade later, we look forward to celebrating our marriage and our “finally” with everybody.