Monday, Oct. 28 marked a year since Wyndi and I pledged our lives together. There have been some trying times and awesome moments and they are both made better by being able to share them with her.
Recently, we remarked that since they weren’t filmed, our vows weren’t recorded anywhere other than in handwritten books we had at the altar. (Those who have seen my writing know how rough that is to read.)
So I’m sharing my vows from a year ago in a much more legible form with an even bigger audience. I mean these vows even more today. I love you, Wyndi.
“There is no other word that describes how I feel today other than grateful. I was blessed to have met you years ago and call you a friend, but we weren’t ready to be partners.
Life dragged us in opposite directions and took us completely out of each other’s lives, but it was fate that led me to call you after years without contact.
I only wanted to apologize for being careless with your feelings and honestly didn’t expect you to even answer. I was blessed again that you accepted the apology and forged a new relationship as friends and support, as we both navigated our new editorial roles.
A pandemic kept us from meeting face to face but allowed us so much time to get to know each other better through sharing our days, reading to each other, watching TV together and more.
It was obvious you weren’t the same person I knew before but more so, neither was I.
I am in awe of how driven you are both as a professional and as a human with boundless compassion for others. I am in disbelief of how much you not only tolerate my strange quirks but seem to relish them. I am captivated by your intelligence and passion.
Many of these traits were present when we first dated more than a decade ago but they shine under your confidence as someone who knows herself and embraces it unapologetically.
I respected you as a friend and colleague then but it took growth under some trying times for me to stand up as your partner.
It was a second chance I didn’t deserve and a great example of grace that only love can provide.
I can’t promise you that life will always be easy but I pledge to never take your love, support and character for granted. I will always be there to provide humor on a stressful day. I will always have your back in any fight, whether personal or professional. I will always delight at the cute noises you make while frustrated or attending to a task. (Sorry whenever that delight annoys you.)
I will provide counsel when you want it and an attentive ear when you don’t. I will look forward to every new day taking on the world and exploring it with a partner who shares many of my interests and has others that fascinate me. Mainly I will love you for life. You deserve nothing less.”
Paul Gaudette is the Managing Editor of the Dublin Citizen. He can be reached at publisher@dublincitizen.com