I can hardly make sense of the fact that, as of today, Adam and I have been together for 13 years.

13 years ago Adam and I were barely high school freshmen. We couldn’t drive. Our parents still did our laundry. We had to schedule our IM and phone conversations around when our families needed to use the phone or computer. I had braces; Adam still got grounded.

Our relationship happened almost by mistake.

We started falling for each other during German class, the one class we had together that year. I revealed to a friend that I liked Adam and got his AIM screen name from her. One day I took the leap and sent him a one-word IM — “Wirklich?” It was our inside joke and I knew he would know who I was. It was agonizing waiting for his response. What if he didn’t like me like I liked him? What if it was someone else’s screen name? He finally responded but the butterflies in my stomach didn’t go away. I had never talked to one of my crushes like this before. Thankfully, all of my worrying was for nothing and we realized we shared the same feelings for one another.

A few days later Adam’s homecoming date cancelled on him. She didn’t want to leave Adam stranded without a date only a few days before homecoming so she asked one of her friends to see if I would be interested in going with Adam. After a lot of confusing back-and-forth, Adam learned that he had a new date for homecoming if he wanted to go with me. He said yes, and the rest is history.

13 years later, I’m married to that guy that I needed so much courage to type and send one word to in 9th grade. Obviously, there have been ups and downs in our relationship. Yet despite the things we may say to each other when we’re angry, I really do feel that our love for each other grows with each day.

I think it’s safe to say that we’d honestly be lost without the other. At this time next year, we will have spent half of our lives with each other. We’ve known each other as awkward teenagers, college students learning to survive in the “real world”, and adults who celebrate life like children — cherishing the small moments and simply taking the time to have fun.

The past 13 years have certainly been an adventure. So much has changed in the last 13 years that it’s hard to imagine where we’ll be in the next 13 years.  We’ve shared a whole series of “firsts” together and I can’t imagine a better partner to continue to share those “firsts” with.