For Better or Worse...

I am 22 years old and feel like I've been through a lifetime of emotional turbulence. There have been so many people walking in and out of my life and treating me like trash in the process that I had accepted the notion that indeed, I must not be terribly important or worthwhile.

All of this changed when I met Aaron. Never for a moment have I felt unimportant or unloved. I am definitely the most important person in the world to him.

However, every once in awhile, I remember the turbulence of the past, and my self-esteem/self-worth starts to deteriorate. I dwell on what's been-what could have happened-what did I do wrong to make everything so horrible?

And then there's Aaron. There he is with all of his love and patience and I have to tell myself to remember that all of that bad stuff is over now, and here I am with him, and nothing else matters. Nothing else matters because we are in this crazy fight together, for better or worse, until we're looking over at each other with wrinkled faces and gray hair from our separate rocking chairs on the front porch of the home we worked so hard to build.

I have to remember that everything that happened to make me feel so horrible about myself is over now. It's behind me. It has nothing to do with who I am now. And I have a partner who will stand by me and remind me every second of every day how wonderful he truly thinks I am until I can finally feel the same way about myself.

I am so very lucky.