I Do, to The Wild

I do: To mornings without alarms, to nights without walls.

I do: To beauty unmeasured, support unspoken, freedom unearned.

I do: To challenges that strip me bare, coupled with acceptance that builds me whole.

I would have married a man who made me feel as supported, beautiful and free as being outside does.

Not because life in the wild is easy. It’s not. The wilderness is filled with sharp edges and unexpected storms. You trade away convenience for something deeper, something that can’t be bought or faked. You learn to let go of certainty. To live without guarantees. To meet challenges with savvy, grit, and a little bit of luck.

But in that surrender, something else happens. You belong.

Outside, you’re not asked to be anything other than yourself. The trees don’t care if your hair is tangled. The mountains don’t ask you to shrink. The river doesn’t demand that you smile wider, try harder, or earn your place. You are accepted - fully, completely - because you are connected to the whole.

And that’s the kind of love I would have married. Not the kind that polishes you into something shiny and palatable, but the kind that says: You are already enough. You are already home.

The kind that meets your gaze like the sky at dusk - vast, steady, infinite - reflecting back the brilliance you carry.

Because in the end, true partnership isn’t possession or performance. It is presence.

A union where beauty isn’t measured or judged, but allowed to unfold in its own time.

Where freedom isn’t bargained for, but woven into

every breath.

Where support isn’t conditional, but as steady as the ground beneath your feet.

I would have married that.

And in a way, I still can…every time I step outside.