Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Wonderful-ness; or, Happy Anniversary to My Beloved

Another re-post, this one from five years ago, in honor of Jen's-and-my 31st wedding anniversary. . .

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There are times when I’m simply overwhelmed by the wonderful-ness of my wife. Times when I just look at her and ask myself, “How is it that the most amazing woman in the universe threw her life in with me?” And I’m just in awe of my good fortune.

There might be a few women in the world (stress on ‘might’ and ‘few’) who are physically more beautiful than Jen, but when I consider the strength of her character, the beauty of her soul and spirit, she blows them all away. I’ll say it again – she is the most amazing woman in the universe. I almost feel bad for the rest of you guys that she’s my wife. Almost.

And the thing is, I’m well aware that I did nothing in particular to deserve her. I’m still not real sure why, all those years ago, she brought that rubber ball to me, when it seems like there must have been lots of more desirable guys than me available to her. But I’m glad she did. I’ve often described how we knew each other pretty well before we ever got to the point of courtship. And that’s what’s most amazing of all to me – she’s told me many times how God told her, before I even proposed to her, “What you see is what you get with him.” She had a pretty good, sober assessment of my character. AND SHE STILL MARRIED ME! That blows me away, and I’m grateful for it every single day I’m married to her.

And even now, after 31 years, I’m still blown away. She knows me way better now than she did back then, and she still throws her life in with mine. For all the clear-eyed, sober appraisal of my character she had when we were courting, there are lots of things, not all of them good, that she’s only learned from living with me for 31 years. And she still stays married to me. Amazing!

“Somewhere in my wicked, miserable past, I must have done something good.”

Simply flat-out amazing. . .

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Happy Anniversary, Sweetheart.  You have made my life immeasurably richer. . .

12 comments:

  1. Have a super 31st! Glad you found THE ONE so many years ago!

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  2. how wonderful for you both. happy anniversary!

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  3. Happy Anniversary!

    31 years? That's something to be damn proud about, you two!

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  4. Bijoux - Thank you.

    I hope you won't think me an ungrateful churl if I quibble with the notion of THE ONE. I think Jen would agree with me that both of us might have been happily married to any number of other people. But we married each other (and on that day, we did become THE ONE for each other), and put in the work, and made the sacrifices necessary to arrive at a wonderful place, 31 years down the road.

    And congratulations to you and yer hubs on yer Silver!

    Skip - Thanks. How long have you and Grandma Skip been married?

    Lime - Thanks. I can say for certain that it's wonderful for me; as far as I can tell, Jen doesn't mind too much, either. . . ;)

    Suldog - In all humility (because I know that I'm not so all-fired virtuous as all that), we are proud of it. Thanks.

    I remember on our 25th, thinking about how the five years between our 20th and then had really taken us thru the fire, and that 25 was something to celebrate, that even 20 hadn't been, in quite the same way. . .

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  5. Happy Anniversary, keep 'em coming!!

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  6. Congratulations Craig!

    I think the math nerd in you might appreciate this song. It also speaks to your comment regarding "the one"
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gaid72fqzNE&feature=related

    It made me giggle. Especially as I prepare to celebrate the big 31 with the "only one" for me next month. Not to mention neck down alopecia!

    Two other songs that your post conjured up almost instantaneously:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cm2YyVZBL8U&feature=related

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otLlHv2JHTc

    That last one is a favorite song of mine. I've never thought about it in the context that the person who produced the video (just stumbled across it 10 minutes ago). I'd be interested in your thoughts. I do think outside of the Madonna thing that it is a perfect song for you and Jen?

    Warning: Tim Minchin's other work may very well offend some religiously observant or socially conservative people and I would suggest that those who might identify as such steer away from clicking on his other offerings.

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  7. Xavier - I'm not sure who the "'em" is, to which you refer. ;)

    And anyway, your comment would make more sense with 'her' as the referent.

    (OK, all together now - 'did he really say that?')

    Schweeney - Wonderful links, my friend! (I should show you, sometime, how to do embedded links, so the reader can just click on the link, rather than copy/paste)

    I thought the Minchin piece was hilarious, and captures quite nicely the paradox of saying simultaneously that Jen does me like no other, and yet that I might have been quite happy with someone else. . . (And just judging from what's out-and-about in the popular culture, Id've thought that neck-down alopecia was something of a 'cultural ideal'. . .)

    You wouldn't be surprised if I told you that 'Maybe I'm Amazed' has been one of my very favorite songs since I first heard it when I was 14, would you? Or that the Paul/Linda marriage made me smile for years? Or that I've been known to softly croon 'My Love' in Jen's ear, from time to time?

    *Ahem*. . . Well, then. . .

    And the Billy Joel song is lovely. I've appreciated quite a bit of Billy Joel's work, but never heard this one before; thanks so much for sharing it.

    (And yeah, the 'Blessed Mother' bit seems a bit of a stretch, but you never know - I mean, she comes to Paul McCartney in times of trouble, right?)

    ;)

    And, do I properly understand that you are approaching your own 31st anni? That late summer/early fall of 1980 was quite the auspicious time, wasn't it? Anyway, congratulations! And thanks for your example of comitted love! And many happy returns of the day!

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  8. Say what? I don't get it .... ;-)

    hit me after I posted but somehow it needed to stay up.

    heh heh ....

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  9. Happy Anniversary to the both of you! May you have many more blessed years with your sweetheart.

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  10. Flutter - I'm hopin' so. . .

    And thanks, friend. . . ;)

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