To the Girl I Love, From Your Boyfriend With Disabilities

To the Girl I Love,

I love you, but you don’t know that. You probably know that I like you, but love you? Yeah, that probably took you by surprise.

Well, it’s true. I love you.

I’ve loved you ever since I first met you, ever since I looked into your eyes and got lost in their depth and beauty. Ever since then, I knew you were the one. You also know that I have type 1 diabetes and cerebral palsy, but I don’t want to talk about that just yet. I want to talk about you, the girl I know you are.

You are kind, you are caring, you are loving. You are the girl I fell in love with, the girl whose character traits truly set you apart. You are different from all the other girls, but in the best way possible. You know who you are, and you never let anyone define you. You radiate inner confidence, and never try to be someone else. These are just some of the things I love about you, among the many.

Now, I want to talk about my CP and diabetes. In the process of falling in love with me, you probably noticed that I walk with a slight limp, and give myself insulin before every meal. I was born with cerebral palsy, a condition that makes my hamstrings tight and causes me to walk with a slight limp. I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in first grade, and have been checking my blood sugars and taking insulin ever since.

I want you to know something about these conditions I live with. They will never stop me from fully loving you, nor will they get in the way of the life we have planned together.

We will still have kids, and wake up in the middle of the night after hearing their cries. We will still have family vacations, and argue about the fact that we’ve been in the car for what seems like eternity. We will do all the things every family does. We will share laughter, heartache, and every emotion in between, together.

There will be days when my blood sugars fluctuate and I’ll feel less than great. There will be days when my hamstrings seem extra tight, and I get tired from walking.

However, there will never be a day that I stop loving you.

These conditions I have? Yeah, they suck sometimes. They suck so much less now though, having you in my corner. And in the end, we won’t remember my conditions. We’ll remember all the memories we made together, and cry when isn’t time to make any more.

While there’s time though, let’s get busy making memories. While there’s time, let’s live.

I love you,

Brooks