Because after you’ve fallen, after the easy part is over, the hard part is convincing someone to stay. How do you show them only the parts of you that are worth loving? How do you hide the parts that aren’t?

I never expected us to be perfect from the beginning and I never wanted perfect. I wanted us.

Love someone who understands that you need to make yourself happy first. That you need to be able to fix the bad days on your own, and sometimes that means putting yourself before them. Love someone who understands that, and never let them go.

And it was in that simple question And in your kind and gentle lips, That you pulled me to the surface And gave me a long-awaited breath of fresh air Just at the exact moment that I was about to drown.

“The very small things are very important because that’s what you have over time. So do nice things for each other and say thanks and be kind to each other. These things absolutely, absolutely, absolutely add up. The big things are important too, but I would argue that these little things are actually more important in the end.”

Sometimes I feel like I’m chasing a dream, a vision of the past, where you and me were one person

I think relationships, especially in the beginning, are kind of like baking cookies from scratch when you’ve misplaced your favorite recipe but have a general idea of how it’s all supposed to come together.

Is it the amount of effort you pour into a relationship?

Truthfully, at the root of our cultural obsession with marriage, I smell fear and insecurity.

“Be appreciative.”