I've spent my life navigating by mountains and stars. I always knew my bearings.
Then I walked into Chef Chu's and saw you sitting alone. That was luck. Pure, unearned, improbable luck. I am grateful.
The sage is silver and the skies are full of stars. The Perseids, too — arriving right on time. Some things are trajectory. Finding you was not.
Here — in the shadow of the Tooth of Time, in this heaven on earth, before everyone we love — I make these covenants.
I will be your Polaris — steady, faithful, always beside you. I have trusted these stars since I was a boy. And then I met you — felt my bearings shift — not lost, but finally aligned.
I will listen the way you write: with patience, curiosity, and belief that the story matters.
I love the way you see the world — how you notice the rustling leaves of an old aspen, how you see light turn water to fire. You sharpen my sense of what is true.
I will build a life with you. One that stands.
You walked into a full life — five kids and half a century of memories — and made it home. You took us to Pau and the North Rim — our family was yours. You stepped into our constellation and brought it into sharper light.
I will be beside you when the trail gets steep.
I choose you today. And I will make that choice, with joy, every day.