Joli's Journal Jar, Day 7

It seems as though I am getting the love questions early on. This is such a pleasant memory, I don't mind talking about it!

Write about the first time you told each other "I love you"...

I can't tell you the exact date, but I can tell you other details probably seemingly less important. Dustin was scheduled to work overnight with the City of Saint Joseph's police department, he was wearing his SJPD sweatshirt and met me outside on the staircase on the bluff. He told me he had a surprise for me, I thought it would be something cheezy, a little gift or maybe even flowers. We were still so new into our relationship, it could have been anything. When I met him outside and greeted him with a kiss, and he whispered my surprise into my ear. He called out for the evening and was spending it with me.

We took a walk down to the pier on Tiscornia beach, it's beautiful there and the weather was gorgeous. We walked down to the end and sat to talk. Dustin suddenly stood up and told me he had something to tell me. He said "I think, no, I KNOW I'm falling in love with you," and I just sat there with my mouth open. I couldn't believe it, it was like a dream come true. I knew in my heart I was falling in love with him, too.

After he told me, I knew he was waiting for an answer. I told him I couldn't just say it back, I couldn't say it until I felt it was true in my heart. It wouldn't be fair to him to just agree, I wanted him to hear it coming from me. We walked back toward the sand, talking about anything and everything. There's a new openness you feel when you tell someone you love them. We made our way back to the very beginning of the pier and just stood to watch the water rushing onto the sand. He stood behind me and wrapped his arms around me, keeping me warm as the weather started to cool. I knew it in my heart long before that night, but it never felt right to say it. I told him that I love him, too. I felt like I opened doors I never knew existed, I turned on lights in darkness I thought would never be lit, my heart felt healed in places I thought would forever be bruised.

I've said "I love you," hundreds of times since that day, but that first one still stands out in my mind. It was special, it always will be. If I ever forget, I have this post to refer to. I love him as much today as I did then, and every day forward I will love him as much as I did then.