Unedited Vows, Real Life Edition

I, [Name], take you, [Name], to be my partner.
To have and to hold—except sometimes holding feels heavy, and sometimes we forget how to reach for each other at all.

For better, for worse—though we don’t always agree which is which, and sometimes the ‘worse’ feels louder than the ‘better.’

For richer, for poorer—not just about money, but the wealth of attention, patience, and kindness we trade back and forth, sometimes unevenly.

In sickness and in health—though we’re rarely ready for how sickness changes us, or how health can drift into routine.

To love and to cherish—except love looks different over decades, and cherishing can start to feel like habit instead of spark.

Till death do us part—words that sound noble, but don’t warn you how lonely it can feel to still be here, together, but apart.