This is not a writing post. I’ll try and post an update on that front later this week, but right now, this is a different kind of post altogether.
Seventeen years ago today, I walked down the aisle with my bride. We met our freshman year of college, technically in ’93 although it was the spring of ’94 before we knew each other’s names or went on a first date.
She has been the lodestone of my life, giving me a calm center no matter what storms have brewed around us. Even before we were married, it was Kim that urged me to pursue working with computers even though my still wet degree was in Political Science. That career shift set us on a path that ultimately culminated in our move to the West Coast.
And in between? The sole reason I have the freedom to write, a passion that we daydream could support us one day although there hasn’t been a single sale to justify that optimism, is because of my wife. She makes sacrifices I don’t even know about so that we can continue to pursue our dreams.
In those seventeen years, we’ve had three daughters, and they are the greatest gift I could ever have dreamt of. When we were newlyweds, she spoke of a large family while I, a single child, couldn’t fathom two or more children. Now I am blessed (a word I don’t use lightly or in many contexts) to have three amazing daughters, each a curious blend of their mother and I. They have inherited her strength, her beauty, and her keen wit.
Last night, thanks in part to a gift from my office last year, we were able to go to Fogo de Chao to celebrate our anniversary. It was an amazing evening, filled with good food, great service, and none of that matters. Because we could have eaten at a Togo’s and it would have been great, because I had this woman sitting across from me.
You hear people give the platitude that their spouse is their best friend. Let me assure you, I could want for no one else. She has been the love of my life for as long as I can remember. I can say anything to her, admit everything, and know that she will judge me no less for it. She inspires me, encourages me, and supports me in ways beyond petty fiscal support. Everything good in my life these last seventeen plus years have been in some way because of her quietly and stoutly supporting me.
To my wife, whom I have now known for longer than the time I didn’t know you – happy anniversary, my love.
(Why a blog post for such a personal reminiscence? Because I think the world should know how amazing and thankful I am to have found true love.)