An Open Letter to My Future Husband

Dear Future Husband,

I know you're out there somewhere, you must be! I've been holding onto the image of you for a long time; it helps me get through the ups and downs of dating -- the light at the end of this tunnel that can get so dark at times. I'm hoping that when I meet you I'll understand how the "right one" is worth the wait.

It's difficult to formulate the words that I want to say to you, because I don't know who you are, so perhaps once we meet there will be so much more I want to say, and some of this will just be silently understood.

I am looking forward to a relationship of mutual love, respect, and trust. A life of loving, growing, communicating, solving problems, critical thinking, raising children who are Yarei Shamayim and Bnei Torah, sharing a home, responsibilities, a life, ideas, dreams, celebration, hopes, accomplishments, and even our fears. I am anticipating raising our family and building our home deeply rooted in Torah values and honesty. Our life we will live will be rich and dynamic, and I want to make a difference as a supportive wife and mother, as well as within the frum world at large.

I hope we have an exciting romance, but I also hope there will be days we can just chill and enjoy each others' company. You will be my best friend, my confidante, the person I can never spend too much time with, my forever. And, I will always be there for you, your moral support, your shoulder to cry on. I know most men don't like getting emotional, but when you need someone to talk to, I will always be there to take care of you.

I know our relationship may not always be perfect, but I hope you will fight for me, as I will you. I want you to be the one I turn to when things go wrong, and know that I will always be there for you when things go wrong. I hope to make you a happy you didn’t know before you met me, the kind that makes you never want to live your life without me. I hope too, that being with you, this is the kind of happy I’ll be. I hope that we can live every day remembering why we got married, that we will remain the people we respectively "fell in love" with, appreciating each other's qualities and even imperfections.

I hope that we can enjoy the simple things in life together, and that we can hold onto the things that are really important. You will be the kind of man that I'm proud to show off to my friends and family. And, I want you to be proud, happy, and excited that I’m in your life. I hope you will believe in me on the days I do not believe in myself, and love me in the times I cannot love myself.

I hope we will have the perspective to not let problems turn into disasters, pain turn into suffering. We will know that together we can work through anything if we share what's on our minds and work together, recognizing that we're the most important thing in the world for each other. I will be your best friend, always, and I will support you in your moments of weakness, celebrate in your times of success, holding your hand every step of the way...as I know you will do for me.

I hope that even after many years together, we will continue to learn each other, compliment each other, grow together, and never take the other for granted. Each day our relationship will get stronger, and we will remember the day that we got married, laughing about how we thought we knew each other back then.

I cannot wait to meet you, and until then know that I am working every day to be the person that is the most available to give and receive love, to succeed the most in a relationship.

All my love, always.