I know I have found love.

Because when hurt feelings finally surface,

they are met with listening ears.

Because even when the waters are still deep,

the intention to understand is there.

Trust —

built before our hearts were fully invested,

spoken aloud,

not assumed.

It is the small things that reassure me of connection.

Lingering eyes.

Fingers pinching fabric

when hands aren’t free.

Love lives in the ordinary.

Tired,

but the trash is taken out.

The dishes are clean.

Clothes are folded and put away.

Everything I don’t have the energy for

is done without asking.

Tired hands still show up.

This is what I fall for.

This is what tells me I am loved.

I am grateful I have learned to see

ordinary love.

I don’t need grand gestures or pretty things.

A quiet breakfast shared in peace.

Cuddling beneath the same blanket.

Something small to laugh about together.

We talk about how we won’t agree on everything.

How toes will be stepped on.

How moments will be messy.

But we also talk about how we’ll move through them.

That is how I know

I have found love.

-E