By: Misty Kaye Rice

I was only four when you both said, “I do,”
Too young to know what forever would ask of you.
Too little to understand the promise you made,
Or all of the storms that together you'd face.

Dad, you walked into a life that had already known pain,
And somehow made home feel like home again.
You never had to choose me, but you made me your own,
And because of your love, I never felt alone.

There was never a “step,”
Never a line.
I was yours,
and you were mine.

And Mom, I've watched you love him through all of these years,
Through beautiful moments, hard times, and tears.
Whatever life brought, whatever you went through,
You somehow kept choosing each other, you two.

Because forty-six years isn't made of easy days,
It's holding on when life gets in the way.
It's carrying the other when one can't stand tall,
And saying, “I've got you,” through it all.

You stayed.
You fought.
You grew.
And somehow,
love grew too.

You taught me love isn't just flowers and rings,
Or wedding-day promises and beautiful things.
It's knowing each other at your worst and your best,
And standing together when life puts you to the test.

It's “I'm still here.”
It's “I've got you.”
It's “Whatever comes,
we'll make it through.”

And Dad, there's something I hope that you know,
Something I've carried wherever I go.
You may not have been there the day I was born,
But you've been my Dad through every season and storm.

You raised me, protected me, made me your own,
And taught me that family is built in the love that is shown.
There has never been a “step” before Dad to me,
Because love, not blood, is what made us family.

And now I understand what I couldn't at four:
Love isn't finding someone and needing nothing more.
It's finding your person and choosing to stay,
Then choosing each other again every day.

So I don't just celebrate the day you said, “I do,”
I celebrate forty-six years of making those words true.
Every sacrifice, every storm, every beautiful year,
Every time one needed the other and found them still here.

You taught me something I will carry my whole life through:

Love isn't only something you feel.
Love is something you choose.

I was four when I watched your story begin,
Too young to understand the love I was standing in.
But I grew up watching the answer unfold right in front of me...

If anyone asks what lasting love looks like,
I'll simply point to Mom and Dad.

Happy 46th Anniversary. ❤️

I love you both, always.

Misty Kaye Rice