Every Girl Deserves a Brandon

When I was growing up, I just knew that I was going to marry a guy at least 5 years older than me, a good 6 inches taller than me, with dark hair, and an accent, preferably British or Australian.  Then I met Brandon.  Two and a half years younger, a mere 5 inches taller than me, with almost no hair, and no accent (though he has spent quite a bit of time in both the UK and Australia).  What can I say?  I surprised myself by being immediately smitten with him. 

The thing is, however, that I didn't fall for him because of any superficial thing like his age or his voice or his looks (well, that's not entirely true...I LOVE his dimples).  Brandon made me feel then (and still does) like I am the most incredible person alive.  He makes me feel like the me God has always intended for me to be.  Let me explain.

An old roommate once told me that she always expected to fall madly in love with her husband, but she never expected to be such good friends with him.  The thing I have always loved about my closest friends is that I can completely be my awkward self around them, and they get me.  It's easy and refreshing to be around such good friends because I don't feel like I have to be anyone other than myself.  When I met Brandon, he made me feel like myself.  After a long string of "relationships" (and I use that term very loosely), I didn't really feel like myself anymore. 

Then I met this guy who laughed at my jokes, thought it charming when I walked into doorways (& walls & trees & pretty much anything else),  and laughed WITH me (not AT me) when I spilled things on my shirt.  To top it all off, he let me know in no uncertain terms that he thought I was beautiful.  With makeup and without.  In nice clothes and in my landscaping clothes.  With long hair or short.  Glasses or contacts.  I could gain 75 lbs and Brandon would still tell me truthfully that I was the most beautiful girl in the world to him.  He understands that an evening in watching Jimmy Fallon clips on YouTube (while laughing hysterically) is more appealing to me than a romantic dinner at a fancy restaurant.  Every girl deserves to have a guy who makes her feel like it's not only okay to be herself (inside and out), but that her real self is exactly who he wants to be with for forever.  God didn't intend for me to end up with anyone who made me feel less than this, and I'm glad I never settled for less than this.

There's no real reason why I'm posting about my husband this week, but I know I needed to write about our relationship.  My daughter will someday read this, and she needs to know that it's okay to wait for something real and amazing.  My sons will read this, and they need to know that real love is about more than just superficial attributes.  And Brandon deserves to know that I think he's the most incredible person alive, too.