I know you want loud, flashy fireworks that completely blow your mind. I know you want big, magical sparks that leave you spinning giddy. I know you want dizzying romance that sweeps you off your feet. I know you want great-big-crazy-stupid love that lasts a lifetime.

I know it, because I want it too, and I want you to know that you can have it.

You can have it all.

But first, my darling, you need to slow down to admire the beauty of the roses, you need to tread softly on the sweet-smelling grass. You see, the kind of love that your heart craves so badly rests in the places of magic and mystery. It stays hidden, tucked away and protected from all those who don’t deserve it. It hides behind kind eyes, caring words, and selfless gestures. It lies in the rare glimpse of a golden heart, if you stay long enough to look past the shallowness of the superficial. It is found in the messiness of little imperfections, beyond which lies all the good stuff.

Big love begins in the quietest of moments. Crazy stupid love starts slow. Great love lies in the simplest things.

It is words of encouragement when you don’t believe in yourself. It is a lingering glance that makes you feel like you’re the most beautiful person in the world. It is showing you the unique little things about yourself that you never realized existed. It is a warm hug or a small joke on the days that you can’t seem to get out of bed. It is the gentle push when you need to be challenged, and reminded of your own potential. It is a torch that shines the light on everything wonderful about you, when you don’t feel strong enough or good enough to face the world. It is spontaneous and silly laughter that melts all your worries away. It is voluntary support when you’re too proud or afraid to ask for it. It is picking you up from the airport at a highly inconvenient hour. It is taking care of you when you’re ill. It’s doing the dishes, taking out the trash, getting the groceries, and paying the bills on time. It is asking about how your family and friends are doing, and really meaning it.

It is knowing that you are not alone, you are never alone.

It is holding your hand when the sun is shining, and even when the sky is dark. It is watching the rain fall, the wind howl, the storms thunder, and the snow fall. It is growing together in the smallest of ways as the seasons pass, and sticking around as a new year begins. It is adventuring with you to broaden your horizons, and inspiring you to stretch your boundaries.

This is the kind of love that you so deeply desire, if only you look for it in the right places, if only you give it a chance when it comes knocking at your door.

This is the kind of love that will never give up on you, even when you’ve given up on yourself. This is the kind of love that will build a foundation of mutual trust and respect upon which stands strong partnership. This is the kind of love that will love you madly through wrinkles, sickness, and until death. This is the best kind of love because it begins and ends in the softest of silences, the sweetness of simplicity, and in the quietness of the smallest moments.