Exactly seven years ago, I kissed a girl (and I liked it).

Fast forward to today, and we have our own place, two cats, two kids, and two wedding rings that spell “Infinity and beyond” when you put them next to each other.

Only seven years. That’s not such a long time, really. But what a lifetime of difference.

I thought for a while about what word I’d pick to best describe this time with you. The word I keep coming back to is: “Easy.”

Wow, how romantic, right?

Yet it’s true. Hear me out.

I’ve always been told that relationships are tough. That conflict is virtually unavoidable. That, after a while, it’ll all be about arguments, constant push and pull, and half-hearted compromises that leave nobody happy.

Growing up as one of so many children with divorced parents, some part of me assumed that couples sticking together happily was a miracle on par with finding a literal pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.

Every clichéd marriage stereotype has been preparing me for this weird life of unspoken grudges and mind games, because “women be from Venus and men be from Mars, yo”…

…and then you came along to prove all of that wrong.

After seven years, I can count the number of serious fights we’ve had on the fingers of Captain Hook’s hand. I fail to recall a single instance of drama for the sake of drama. No meaningless conflict, no blame placing and finger pointing.

Thanks to you, major life decisions—ones that should give people cold feet and keep them awake at night—have been some of the easiest decisions I’ve ever made.

Buying an apartment together? Easy.

Getting married? Easy.

Traveling the world together, getting cats, becoming parents, and then becoming parents again. All easy. I wouldn’t hesitate to do it all over again.

Now, I won’t pretend that parenting is a smooth ride without friction. If anything, these past few weeks have proven that it’s an often bumpy road. But I couldn’t have wished for a better partner than you to navigate these rough waters with.

You juggle so many roles—wife, friend, boss, mother—with such effortless grace.

Whenever I watch you intuitively use the right combination of words to turn Nathan from combative to compliant or soothe seemingly inconsolable Nia gently to sleep, I catch myself being in awe of the endless well of positive energy you seem to draw from.

Your patience and inner strength are a huge part of what holds this family together.

Hell, you often hold me together.

You’re a calming presence when I’m quick to anger. You’re a counterweight to my neurotic brain. You’re a rock-steady constant in an often hectic life full of daily struggles and frustrations.

You ground me.

You’re my home.

You make it so easy for me to be, well, me.

All of this is why it’s just so incredibly easy to keep being in love with you.

If there’s one thing I do find difficult, it’s to imagine anyone else I’d rather spend the rest of my life with.

So what do you say…go for seventy?