37 years. A lot happens in 37 years. Go ahead, do the quick math….. yes that’s 1977.

For me, 37 years ago is when my life began. It’s when two beautiful people came together to declare their love for each other, to promise their forever to each other, to become one family. After all, without that beautiful union of two of the most amazing people God has blessed this green earth with, how else would I be here today?

Now I know that everyone claims that they have the best parents in the world, but for real…. I really do. Growing up, they were my guide, my strength when I was weak, the light to help guide me from right and wrong, and my role models for who I wanted to become.

37 years ago, my parents became Mr. and Mrs. and vowed their love to one another. In those years, they grew closer together. They changed each other for the better. They even unknowingly changed others around them purely by their amazing and kind spirits. They gave hope to those that struggled to find love that it’s there, in it’s true beauty and glory…. a pure love that doesn’t need to be spoken… a pure love that can be seen so clearly.

31 years ago, though, their love changed. It transformed to this new kind of love. A love they now had to share with a child, my sister. And then 28 years ago (aka: the greatest day of my parents’s lives – at least I’d like to think so) I was born and their love now had to expand. Their love radiated and lit up a room.

My dad. He’s the jokester. My mom? The innocent and gullible one who looked so cute on his arm. Together? Two peas in a pod. My dad joked, my mom laughed. Repeat. My mom has this great laugh too. And my dad? Well his laugh is easy to see when you look at Christina or me. It’s full of loud laughter combined with tears streaming down your face. And possibly a red face.

Though short, I spent the first 15 years of my life surrounded by the most beautiful kind of love. By two people who would lay down their lives for the other.. and for us. They were my role models. They taught me what love is. And how beautiful it can be. And how it can work no matter what hurdle life throws your way. And that love is the basis for a good relationship. That with love, you can do anything. That you don’t need material goods to be happy, just the love from another.

When I walked down the aisle 3 years ago to meet Jake at the other end and say our vows, it was my parents love that I had so hoped that we could try to emulate. It was their love that I wished for one day. It never crosses our minds on that day, the day we stand face-to-face to declare our love and enter into forever with that special person…. that one day our loved one standing across from us may be taken too soon. How would we manage? How can I spend my life without my other half?

It’s a reality that my mom faced when we lost my dad 13 years ago. And being a big believer that everything happens for a reason, I know that God didn’t do that just to spite me. He did it so my dad could watch over us, all of us. So he could stand by my mom’s side in a way he never could before. To be her guardian angel. To remind her, and us, that every day is a gift. And that even though a heart stops beating, love never ends.

I’m blessed to have the most amazing parents ever. The father every girl would want. And a mother. A mother so strong. And beautiful. And full of faith. And courage. And just, well beauty.

To you mom and to you dad, because I know you’re watching over my shoulder as I sit here crying in my chair writing this post, to you both I thank you for teaching me about life and about how beautiful and amazing and fulfilling life with love can be <3

Happy 37th anniversary to you both, because even though you can’t be together today… your spirits are always united and your love never fails.