Letters To My Future Husband: The Beginning

Editor’s Note: In honor of writing my 20th Letter To My Future Husband, I thought it only prudent to take stock of how far I’ve come. Check out this first letter….

Dear Mr. Melissa Blake:

If you’re reading this, good news: We made it through the wedding and are enjoying our honeymoon. Right now, glance over and look at me. I’m probably doing one of two things: Drinking a tall glass of cranberry juice (I’ll assume that’s part of the reason you fell in love with me in the first place) or spontaneously blushing as you read this letter (another reason you fell in love with me?).

Either way, I am beyond thrilled that we’re starting our life together. Finally. You were a longtime coming. It’s 2009, and although we haven’t officially met (or maybe we already have in some other non-romantic way?), I look forward to spending the rest of our lives together: Sunday strolls, evening meals together, lots of laughs and cranberry juice, through the good times and the bad times. And yes, I’m sure we’ll fight, but I’ll have perfected my pout perfectly by then; I’m sorry you’ll be unable to resist it.

So why on Earth am I writing you this letter? Why am I wondering about a future that hasn’t happened yet and a life with a man I haven’t even lived with yet? Because I want you to know me. The real me. Of course, we’ve probably had those hours-long talks already, but honestly, the past has a way of getting retold differently than how the events actually unfolded. This is my life, as I’m living it, starting at 27. It’s raw and real and untainted with the lense of rose-colored glasses. People say they really want to know their soulmate – those thoughts, events, feelings that shape life and personality. Well, this is my story. Just for you, fully unedited.

There’s so much I want to tell you, so much of my life I wish you had been a part of, so I hope through these letters that you are able to at least feel connected to them in some way.

Mothers write letters to their children as they grow up – some even to their unborn children. Families writer letters to soldiers based overseas. Some people even write letters to their future selves. It unites people, even people like me, even though I don’t have the pleasure of knowing exactly who you are yet. But I do know one thing: You’re a kind, warm, gentle soul whose arms I can’t wait to wrap myself in someday.

I suppose these letters will be much like one of my favorite TV shows, How I Met Your Mother (hmmm, it might be cancelled by the time you read this; do DVDs still exist?). Our love story will be one told in reverse. You already know how the story ends. I’ve just opened to the first chapter. But like Twilight (the big IT book right now; it’ll probably be outdated by the time you read this), I’m anxious to skip to the end. But I won’t because I want to live, to experience, to cherish every word of our story. I’m looking forward to meeting you in the middle someday.

So enjoy our honeymoon (where did we go??), and I’ll see you (hopefully) in the not-so-distant future.

xoxo,

P.S. At the very least, at least we can get a kick out of these letters when we’re older. And maybe pass them on to our grandkids? OK, I won’t think that far ahead….yet.

[Photos via Simply Bloom Photography]