"To live without hope is to cease to live", ~ Fydor Dostoevsky

Hope can come in all sorts of shapes and forms, for me I needed to believe that there existed a man who could be trusted. One that I could let myself love and not have my spirit torn to shreds. http://javairasfolly.jandell.net/?p=397

So, I had hope and he had a name. He was, at first, untouchable, out of reach and not mine, but I had hope.

"Hope is the only universal liar who never loses his reputation for veracity." ~Robert G. Ingersoll

I guess, I held doubt, how could I not. I didn't hope for a lot. Just enough that he could love me and know himself well enough to be truthful about who he was.

He told me he didn't lie and I knew that sometimes the truth hurt, but I am wiser now. I know that sting of cold hard truth does not hurt anything like the pain of deception. So, I smiled because I am not afraid of truth.

Then hope became reality and I got to know a man, who didn't lie.

He gave an honest account of all he was, he admitted his weaknesses and his failings and didn't apologise for them either. I hadn't hoped for much, simply that he knew himself.

Then I realise, that he is so much more.

Loyalty, integrity, kindness and the guts to stand up for what he believed in. The wisdom to do what he thinks is right and not what he wants. The guts to tell me when I am wrong. The strength to tell me the truth, even when it brought me to tears. The faith to know I would forgive him. The kindness to hold me close while I cried.

He embraces life, lives it to its fullest. Not afraid to stand out or be different. Always ready to for a new day, whether it be a day of duty or a day of fun.

When I said I feel like dancing, I found myself on the dance floor, dancing as if no one else was watching, dancing with him.

and of course, he has friends, lots of them. Friends that love him and they smile at me because they know I am completely lost to him. That I understand just how amazing he is and the most amazing thing is, he is mine.

Love isn't meant to hurt, it can just be easy.

Happy Birthday Bart, I love you.