A love for all seasons

I'm a firm believer in the seasons. I think that it's important, for me, to experience all seasons together before marriage.

This doesn't mean that I have a timeline for dating or even engagement. I think you can know he's "The One" before you experience all the seaons together, but I could never marry someone without having experienced the fullness of seasons with him. I am lucky to have experienced the fullness of seasons with the love of my life.

B and I began our romantic relationship last fall (make that a year exactly on Saturday :-). During our seasons together, I have had time to learn about his "winter depression," which amounts to his dislike for cold weather in Virginia. In the spring, I learned about his extreme devotion to the Atlanta Braves. The summer continued his love of baseball, the outdoors, and brought the challenges of job searches.

In addition to his changes along with the seasons, I have also been able to share in holidays with his family. Because family is so important to us both it was important that we spend significant time during our dating relationship with one another's family. We both spent significant time during the holidays together and realized how important it was to understand one another's traditions.

Each season has brought new joys and challenges for our relationship. I continue to learn and love more about B with each change. In the grand scheme of things four seasons is a short time, so I think it's important to share in all of them together before joining in marriage.

--Love