If I Could Do It All Again, I Would Love You Just The Same

By

All this time, I have given you nothing but shelter from the rain and warmth in the cold. For you, I stand in the rage of the storm and fight against the winds that try to knock you down.

For you, I withstand the heat of the summer and the bitterness of the winter. When all my doors and windows were shut tight, it was you who held the key. The key that I hoped you would keep safe, the key that I hoped you held close to your heart. Every night, you came in and I held you. I kept you safe while you lay at rest.

Every day, I opened my doors for you, waiting for your return. And at first, it was just as I had imagined. You treated me well and you cared for me. You filled me with things that made me beautiful, inside and out.

You gave me hope, you gave me love, you gave me purpose. Then, just as I had feared, you realized that you did not need me anymore.

You stopped paying your dues, you stopped paying the bills, you stopped coming back every night. Still, I pray that tonight will be the night you come back to me. I pray that one day, in the middle of a raging storm or under the blazing sun, you find yourself needing me. I hope that one day you find your way home.

But even though you do not love me anymore, there has never been a moment where I have regretted all that I have done for you, all that I have given you. I do not resent withstanding storms for you.

If I could do it all again, I would love you just the same.

I do not know why, but no matter how many times you slam the doors and shatter the windows, I will pick up the pieces. I will wait for you to come home. You have put me up for sale because you do not want me anymore. You have found a better home. But still, I thank you. Because of you, I have become stronger. Because of you, I have learned to love myself. It is because of you, that my doors remain unlocked for the one who will truly call me home.