The thing about love is, I never saw it coming.

You kind of crept up and took me by surprise.

I think we've had it wrong this whole time. I'm not sure that love is really supposed to be so hard. I think we're so used to having to work at things that fall apart, that when something works out on it's own we dismiss it. All I know is I'm not going to ignore what's been given to me this time. Instead, all I'm saying is, "thank you."

I ask that you don't write me off as naive. I've been through my share of heartbreak, and I've given so much effort into relationships before that I found myself at my breaking point. I know that life is work, that relationships are work, that love is work. I've just figured out that I don't want it to be the death of me. It turns out that I'm allowed to be happy. In fact, it turns out, that's the objective. I guess I took "Anything worth having is worth working for" a little to hard. I saw love only as a service: being there for someone else to earn bonus points on the other side. I was tired of being tired at the end of every day with nothing to show for it. I was tired of no growth and no reward.

Now I realize I like the feeling of mutual effort. Instead of sweat and tears I like saying, "If love is a labor, I'll slave 'till the end." I like knowing that after a disagreement we get closer, not further apart. I like learning how another person works and thinks and feels instead falling deeper into misunderstanding and frustration. I like finally belonging to someone who treats me right.

So this is love.