He was my best friend. 
We told each other everything.  
I knew his secrets.  He knew mine.  We fell in love.

 My father and I fought about him.
 My sister-in-law (one of them) told me, "Be careful, he's Greek, he could have a temper."
My brother (one of them) told me, "If you marry him, I'm not going to your wedding".
My brother (another one of them) said, "You don't know him, like I know him".
 My sister joked that we'd never last because we argued so much about everything.

I didn't listen.  I followed my heart and the wise words of my mother, who encouraged me to stay with John.  We had a special friendship.  I trusted our friendship.  

This year we celebrate twenty-five years of marriage together.    

A strong friendship is a wonderful basis for a marriage.   Build your relationship on trust.  Trust that no matter how big the argument gets, you will work through it because you are best friends, and best friends are rare.

I'm glad I made it into the "friend-zone", and I'm so glad I've stayed there.

This is the love letter he posted to me on the day of our wedding anniversary ...