In college I met this gal in the music department. She seemed to get along with my friends.
She and I got along famously. I found her quite irresistible.
When we got married, I was a skinny kid with red, flowing hair. I wore platform shoes with my tux because I was self-conscious about my height. I put on another few inches over the next few years.
I got a dog-in-law. She was a really good rottweiler. We’d like to have another large breed when we have room for it.
I was driving a tricked-out 1983 Honda Civic station wagon. It was the prettiest example of the model. I miss that car.
Obviously, they decorated it for us during the service. Jennifer told me that her dog didn’t like the guys she had dated previously. I didn’t seem to have that problem.
We drove everywhere in that little car. Do you know how long it takes to get from Oklahoma City to Sacramento, then to San Fransisco and into Yosemite? I do. The odometer rolled across the 200,000-mile mark on that trip.
Of course we had our differences and our struggles, but you would have never known it from the outside looking in.
We enjoyed life and had a lot of fun.
And, we were in love.
That was probably pretty obvious though.
For our five-year anniversary, we scrimped and saved and I took her to the swankiest restaurant in town. We got dressed up for the occasion and I had everything planned out in advance. It was prefect.
Sometimes it’s easy to get distracted, but we always tried to keep eyes on each other.
To have fun together, and grow old together.
So we kept having fun together, and we kept growing together.
For our ten-year anniversary we had a private restatement of vows and then had a two-person range session with our rifles.
As of today, we’ve been married for fifteen years. And, what are we doing now?
We’re basically having fun and being goofy together, just like always.
And, it’s getting better all the time.
We have a fifteen-year-old bottle of our favorite wine on the rack (a Spenker Zinvandel), and a package of smoked salmon. Maybe we’ll celebrate low-key this evening.
Happy anniversary, Jennifer! I love you.