Lucky Thirteen

Randy and I were married on April 13, 1984.

It was a Friday.



Many people looked cross-ways at us when we set the date, but neither of us suffer from paraskevidekatriaphobia, and it was the only weekend night in April that was available at the place we wanted to use for the ceremony (Thistle Hill in Fort Worth). So we threw caution to the wind, cackled in the face of superstition, and set off on our journey. This means that last Sunday was our 24th anniversary.

Or as Randy put it, "8,766 days of pure...bliss. Counting leap years."

No, but really. There were so many things that could have kept these last 24 years from happening. Early on, when I said Carter, he could have said Reagan. When I said dogs, he could have said cats. When I said beach, he could have said mountains. When I said kids, he could have said you have nieces and nephews, don't you?

But he didn't say any of those things.

And while ALL those days maybe haven't been total bliss, the one thing we could count on is that we were in it together. From Texas to Virginia, to North Carolina, and back to Texas, we've been a team. And when the kids came, we were still a tight little group. And now that the kids are starting to stretch their wings, and our nest is a little closer to emptying, we're still in it together.

When the going was tough, we didn't give up on each other. On the balance sheet that is the last 24 years, there are millions more entries written in black ink than in red. I couldn't be prouder of the life we have built and the family we created. Together.

No one makes me laugh more, have to think faster, or want to work harder to learn new things to TRY to keep up. And there's no other hand I'd rather hold on to as we head in to the second half of our lives.


Happy anniversary, sweetie. I love you.

Milestones

We spent the weekend in Tuscaloosa. It was A Day weekend (always a fine excuse for a visit) so we got to go to the spring training game (we won!!) plus the campus is a fun, fun place to be on a game weekend.

Then, in a happy turn of events, we also got to stay on Sunday for the spring 2008 Ring Ceremony, where Amanda received her University of Alabama Class of 2009 class ring!


I am so proud of her. After some initial missteps, she has found the field of study where she feels comfortable and can excel. She didn't let her early troubles and setbacks garbage up her mind and hold her back. She learned the value of perseverance, and discovered that she is much stronger than she had perhaps thought. What a bright future she has waiting for her.

James is approaching the last year of teenage-hood, and is finishing up his freshman year in fine fashion. He's learned a lot this year, both academically and on a personal level. He's expanded his culinary horizons (he ordered salmon at dinner the other night!) and he's benefited a good deal from the vast diversity that is dorm life at Alabama. There's not a wiser, funnier, more quick-witted kid in the world than he is. He's a cool guy to know.

There are a lot of things that I hope my kids have learned from us, but the one single thing that I hope they both will always remember and never forget is that their father and I are continually awed to see the people they have become. How blessed we are that two doofuses like us could have played a part in creating two so amazing human beings.

Size Matters

Randy's been working diligently at losing weight, and so far he's lost 28 pounds! I'm very proud of him. He came downstairs this morning and started showing me how baggy his jeans are.

Me: Looks like you need to hike in your belt!
Him: But these are my new jeans!
Me: Really? Those are your Tommy Hilfigers? What size are they?
Him: 36, I think. A quick check verified this. But I think they're probably vanity sized.
Me: I never though of men's clothes as being vanity sized. Since they're sized by inches. I mean, a 36 is a 36.
Him: HONEY. When it comes to inches, all men have vanity.

Boy, I walked right into that one.