In a
few weeks I’ll reach a milestone that in today’s fast food society is reached
less and less. On August 21st
my wife and I will celebrate 20 YEARS
of marriage!!!!! Holy cow. There are several thoughts that pop into my
mind. First, there is no way I’m that
old! Second, there is no way my wife is that old!!! The
time has flown by. It’s had its ups and
downs and everything in between. We’ve
cried, we’ve hurt but most of all we’ve laughed and we’ve grown together.
Nearly
twenty years ago I’d just barely graduated.
I was a skinny geek who had no idea what he wanted or where he wanted to
go. I met a fine young woman who had
come to visit with another friend. I was
hobbled by a soccer injury. She gave me
the total and complete cold shoulder and I was hooked!! The rest is history, a year and a half later
we got married and we’ve been making happy memories ever since. In 1993 Monday night football was still on
network TV. Chipper Jones was a rookie
on the Braves, Hoffman was a rookie on the Marlins, Raul Mondesi a rookie on
the Dodgers, and Brad Ausmus was a rookie catcher for the Padres . Toronto beat the Phillies in the World
Series, Dallas won the super bowl, and Chicago won the NBA championships. (So I’m a little sports centric…I can guarantee
she just smiled at the Ausmus reference!)
There was really no internet and cell phones were still brick
sized. I drove a really sweet Mercury
Cougar (which died and led to an even cooler Yamaha Scooter) and life was just
getting started.
Too often we get caught in this
negative loop in life. We see the bad,
the poor, the ugly but seldom do we stop and see the good. But you know what as I lean back and gaze
back over the landscape our 20 years has created I’m pretty happy. I see mostly good times, a life built and a
family created. We’ve done a pretty darn good job. We’ve learned to communicate, to express how
we feel to each other and how to sacrifice for each other. We’ve grown up together. Most of all though, after 20 years we are still
very much in love with each other.
I have
had successes in life and I have had failures.
I’ve been up and I’ve been down.
I’ve had far too many jobs and even more hobbies I’ve attempted to
pursue. In the end my wife has always
held me up and been my rock. A lot of
people don’t see that part of our relationship but I’m here to tell you that
without Kelly I would not be the happy, fairly balanced family man I am
today. She has, over the years,
supported all the cooky little things I’ve done, let me vent when I needed to,
put up with all of my undiagnosed personality defects and in the end what more
can a man ask for from his wife? She’ll
watch baseball, football, and even tolerates a bit of the Tour de France as
well as a soccer game or two. She’s the
perfect wife.
Nothing
I do is ever as good as it is when my wife is with me. As much as I love riding my bike, if I
couldn’t share my adventures with her (even though she’s bored to tears as I
describe my latest ‘cool’ ride stats)the rides just wouldn’t be as cool
afterwards. Without her I’d never be
able to see a doctor (I hate filling out those darn forms). Without her I’d have no faith in me, I’d
doubt myself at every turn but her support and sometimes stern reminder to
shut-up keeps me going. Due to my job we
don’t get a lot of alone time or little dates except for a quick hour lunch
break on Tuesdays. There are no kids and
often times we go to the same restaurant but I don’t care what food I’m eating
because I’m really just happy that for a few minutes we get to hang out.
Kelly
you are my rock. You are my
inspiration. You’re my BFF and life would
just not be as fun if you weren’t in it.
So thank you dear for these years.
Thank you for your support, your love and your devotion. Thank you for the countless sacrifices you’ve
made for me and for our family. Thank
you for always being there with a shoulder to cry on, a stern word to keep me
in line, and kind words to keep me motivated.
Thank you for an awesome 20 years.
I love you.
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