“So, I love you because the entire universe conspired to help me find you.” ―Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

There have been moments in my life that I have wished away a thousand times. I think about the times my heart hurt so badly I didn’t want to see the sun. 

I think about the time I was locked out of the house for an hour, and the time I was stuck in traffic for two hours, and the time I drove all the way to Marietta to get into a club just to have to turn around and drive home because I didn’t have my ID. I think about being young and having to tag along with my parents to wherever they went, being so mind numbingly bored and wishing the day was over. I remember the time I lost my cousin. 2 uncles. 2 great grandmothers and my great grandfather. Several friends. All of my pain in my life, all of the minor and major annoyances, they had to happen exactly as they did. Everyone’s lives had to coincide with mine in exactly the manner they have in order for you to happen. 

The good had to happen, too. I met your mother. I fell in love. We grew up and made a home together and we decided on you. A lot of things happened in between falling in love and having you, and it wasn’t all good. But it had to happen. 

If any moment had ever been slightly altered, you wouldn’t be here. It wasn’t until you were born that I came to understand “everything happens for a reason”. You are the reason.