I'm never quite sure why I'm able to wax poetics about the places we've been and the people we've met, but I struggle to find the right words for the boy I love. I've written paragraph after paragraph this morning, the morning of his 34th birthday, but each time I find myself hitting the delete button because my words weren't as perfect as I'd like them to be. They couldn't quite capture the love that is in my heart and the wonder that is in my soul for the boy who is everything to me.

I wrote about the first time I met Tim, how I instantly knew he was someone I felt safe with and someone I could trust. I wrote about the night of our first kiss on a busy street in Philadelphia, how it was like a scene from the end of the movie when the camera pulls up into the sky, circling the couple in love below. I wrote about our "selfish red light stops" where our car could have made it through the yellow light, but instead we would stop for snuggles and kisses. I wrote about the warm afternoon evening when we sat with blizzards from Dairy Queen in our hands, and I asked him to dream about traveling the world together and he said yes. I wrote about the darker evenings, when I just needed someone to cry to, someone to listen to my worries and my hurts, and he would be there holding me. I wrote about seeing the world with him by my side, knowing that what I seeing was that much better because we were hand in hand. And I wrote about the late evening in November, tucked away in a fishing village in Turkey, where he got on one knee and asked me to dream about spending the rest of our lives together and I said yes.

I can't imagine my world without Tim, just like I can't imagine the world without Tim. He brings out the best in everyone he meets whether it's through his easygoing manner or his thoughtful ideas or his fabulous storytelling or his gentle nature. I love seeing how much people enjoy just being around him. He's such a beautiful soul that it's easy to gravitate toward him. And he's such a giving soul that it's easy to find your steps a little bit lighter and your spirits a little bit higher after spending time with him.

Timothy, I feel so entirely blessed to be able to spend all of my days with you. Thank you for being the love of my life, my sweet prince. Thank you for picking me up when I'm down and lifting me higher than I could ever dream for myself. Thank you for believing in me, for loving me, and sharing this beautiful thing called life with me. I hope you have a wonderful birthday, my beloved, and I can't wait for the many, many more birthdays we will share side by side. Happy Birthday, my sweet Timothy. I love you so very much.