Never Again Will I Wait To Be Chosen

On our wedding day, my fiancé, Ryan Cole, pushed the morning ceremony back to the evening so he could accompany his adopted sister, Claire Cole, to a national awards ceremony. He stood in front of me, exhausted but completely sure of himself, and said, "Claire will only get one chance to accept a national award. You've always been the reasonable one. You wouldn't make me break the promise I made to my mother."

I thought of the year I turned twelve, sitting in the auditorium with my painting award in my arms until the lights went out.