Happy Anniversary Baby, Got You On My Mind

Happy Anniversary Baby, Got You On My Mind

Wow, 26 years, 9 children, 2 grandchildren, 4 states ( 3 of them at least twice), and 15 moves. That is a lot of life being lived together. We sure have had a good time and hope for them to keep on coming.

This isn’t going to be one of those Hollywood style post about the couples that wax poetically on and on about one another’s virtues and then are divorced three months later. I always wonder about those articles, are they PR stunts or are they genuine attempts by the couple to remind one another what it is they really do love about one another – a last ditch effort to get back to what they once had? Marriage is tough ( anyone who says it isn’t, is either lying or just wants to look perfect)and I imagine a marriage under the spotlight can be a pressure cooker.

But being tough isn’t necessarily a bad thing, tough things often get stronger. Just like a piece of fruit left out in the sun that toughens, it often grows stronger making it almost impossible to tear apart. Okay, okay, horrible analogy, but hopefully you get my point, we don’t have to run away from the tough times. If we stick together like a piece of taffy that is so hard to pull apart, it will only help in the long run. Geez, what is this with the bad food analogies today? A whole paragraph of them!

David and I have always tried to remember we are on the same team. We try to keep in mind we are not each other’s enemy. We have a mentality that it is he and I against the world, or maybe somedays, uh, the children, goes a long way for team building. But what I know is we are a two man crew- we think it is important for you as a couple to know it and believe it, for the world to see it and above all, for your children to rest in the safety and security of their parents being “a two man crew” first.

We have spent many a days reminding the children, we are each other’s best friend. We have made a commitment to have time in each day that is just for us. We have gone away together for a weekend of rest and fun for twenty years now and as the children kept multiplying, we started going twice a year. I would rather eat grilled cheese and beanie weenies for a month, then give up that time together. We remember to laugh together, read together, play together- live life together.

Sure there have been moments I have wanted to throw his clothes on the lawn ( I think maybe I did) or hurl a jar of peanut butter across the room creating a half moon shape in the wall ( wait, did that too) and I know he has probably bit his tongue so hard it bled, but who really remembers that stuff? And when we do, it’s too laugh and realize how far we have grown and how small and petty we can make little things.

But oh , if we remember the small things in the tough times.. Like how I still can’t get over how David’s face lights up and how big his smile gets when I walk into a room ( I know, amazing, I have witnesses). It makes me feel blessed every time. He lights up for me, thirty pounds overweight , stretch-mark-riddled, tired ME. Or how genuinely glad we are to see each other at the end of the day. Or how we know the little treats, meals and sweet gestures that perk up a long day. It’s how he still holds my hand everywhere we go. It’s how he still ask the girl who hates to give back rubs, ” You wouldn’t want to rub my back would you?” and oddly I do want to and smile while I comply. And how the creature of habit girl gets the great adventurer to eat Thai for the fourth week in a row, when he would rather be conquering a new cuisine. It’s that he still makes my knees buckle when he flashes a grin and throws a ball cap on top of his head. It’s that good, bad or indifferent days we are committed to one another. We know that we were created for one another and we are in it for the long haul.

Happy Anniversary Baby! You are always on my mind and in my heart! Love you!