i am the second.

 image credit | auburn soul | 2009

Matthew is my husband, my eternal companion.
I am his wife.
I am the second.

Our story is unique.  It is full of moments, some tragic, others joyful.  I have known this man for eleven years, (almost) ten of those years have been spent as husband and wife.  We have loved deeply, fought childishly, and clung to the hope that the path we were on was where we should be.

Before me, there was another.
Her name was Melissa.
And she was Matthew's wife.

I could never do their story justice, for it is not mine to tell.  Matthew and Melissa fell hopelessly in love and set a date to be married in the spring of 2000.  During their engagement they discovered that Melissa had Hodgkin's Lymphoma.  Devastated but not without hope, they decided to wed a few days later, eager to begin their life together.  Ten months later she passed away.  Seven months later Matthew and I met for the first time.  Twelve months later we were married.

Our stories are intertwined.  They have been woven together over time.  She will always be a part of his life.  Forever.  A piece I would never want to rob him of.

I may be number two but he makes me feel like his number one.

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I have plans to one day record our story.  It is funny and sad and such a whirlwind experience.  I often times look back at the last eleven years and am amazed at where we are.  At who we are.

Thank you reading and for allowing me to share a piece of myself.