Twenty Years...

Twenty years ago today, I married the most amazing woman I have ever known.

We were quite young when it all went down. I was 24 and she was 18, and we were as passionate as two people could be. For better or worse, that passion came out in both love and anger. We have loved madly and fought insanely. Through it all, however, we’ve stayed together. I know there have been times when we each have wondered “what the hell am I doing here with this crazy person?”

I know a few of the reasons she has stayed with me, but the primary reasons I’ve stuck around are that she gets me and I love her. I love her smile… her laugh…her passion… the sheer JOY with which she tackles things at times. She makes me laugh, and look at life in a positive way, which something I have a difficult time doing.

Looking over our marriage, while there are some days I’d rather forget, there are a BUNCH of days that I’ll cherish forever…

• The birth of our son… after 36+ hours of labor… she was absolutely exhausted… and incredibly amazing, and so was he…
• The day our daughter was born… Less labor, more fun moments… also amazing…
• The day we bought the store… I would have never done it without her love and support…
• The first time I took her to see the Indigo Girls… Her joy was infectious…
• When I took her to see his royal badness, Prince… Her all-time favorite musician… To be the one to give her that moment was a privilege…
• The first time I bought her flowers… I’m not romantic, and we had been married for over fifteen years when I just did it out of the blue… the look on her face was amazing… I should do that more…
• The weekend we spent at Six Flags early in our marriage… We had such fun…
• Our 15^th anniversary celebration, where she played hostess for about 50 of our friends… bouncing from person to person… genuinely happy to talk and laugh them… and just being genuine as a person… My wife is real and honest about who she is and what she’s about, and that honesty absolutely shone that day…
• I remember when we got “the letter”… and how much we laughed and howled about it… and then almost caused a second letter to be sent…
• The day I flat-lined in the hospital… While it’s not wholly positive moment, I do remember coming to with her squeezing my hand until it’s blue. I came back for her…
• The day we were married… I didn’t have my glasses on, but I could tell she was gorgeous from a mile away, and her getting closer didn’t change that perception one bit. She was absolutely radiant…

Loquacious makes every day an adventure full of love, passion, and honesty, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.  =)

I adore you my gorgeous, beautiful, vivacious, loquacious angel. Even though I don’t show it often enough, I cherish you immensely. You are a better woman than I deserve…

Happy 20^th Anniversary, Darling. Here’s hoping to many, many more…

Love, David