Yesterday, May 5th, a lot of people were celebrating Cinco de Mayo. Darrin and I celebrated too - we celebrated our 9 year anniversary. Nine Years ago, May 5, 2001, Darrin and I went on our first date. We had briefly met the day before when he showed up to Valley Christian's cheerleading tryouts to wish his cousin, Tara, good luck. I never truly understood the phase "I couldn't keep my eyes off of ____" until this moment. The minute I saw him come around the corner, my heart stopped. I swear the earth stopped too, for a brief second and I'm pretty sure angels flew down from heaven to sing a chord or two. lol I know it sounds like a cheesy Disney movie, but really - that's how it happened. In the words of a 16 year old: he was like, SO CUTE! :) :) I remember putting my friend in front of me so I could pretend to talk to her while I was really checking him out. ha ha ha. Hey, I was 16, what did you expect?! :) Tara briefly introduced us after I walked (ok....bounced) up to them and asked Darrin to take a photo of Tara and me (sly, wasn't I?). After he left, Tara told me that he thought I was cute (unbeknownst to me, she told him the same thing!) and said she would try to set us up on a date. The next day, she called and asked if we could go out that night. To be honest, I couldn't remember ANYTHING about him except that he had ridiculously, muscular arms, was tan and wearing a baby blue tank top. Come to find out, he could only remember me bouncing up (and walking away;) ). We couldn't remember each others name or even what each other's face looked like! ha ha Yes, this relationship certainly was started by pure physical attraction. lol Again, we were teenagers - what did you expect? :)
To make a very long story a tad shorter - Tara, her then boyfriend, and Darrin picked me up at my house while my dad proceeded to grill Darrin until I came down (fashionably late, of course). I remember I was so nervous I couldn't even look at him at first. We ended up having some pizza, getting some Starbucks and going to a movie. We laughed a lot that night. Come to find out when he's nervous he tells jokes and when I'm nervous I laugh at anything. I loved that he gave me something to laugh at and he loved that I thought he was funny. It was a wonderful, fun night. Definitely a night I'll never forget.
Our story continues and is quite long, but that's our first date. I can't express how very blessed I feel to have him not only in my life, but as my husband and the father of our children. There are times that I just stop and think "How did I GET him?" It boggles my mind that he's mine. He's such a strong, sweet, loyal, man of God. I'm just as attracted to him as when we first met, yet my love for him continues to grow everyday.
So that's our little "how we met" story. I'd love to hear yours!
And finally, To the love of my life:
Thank you for 9 years of joy. We've certainly had our ups and downs, but together and with the Lord, we've overcome so much. Thank you for always loving me, loving our children and above all, loving God. Thank you for laughing at my stupid jokes and odd quirks and for making me laugh with yours. Thank you for dancing like a madman just to make me smile or for spontaneously dancing with me in the middle of a store...just because a Frank Sinatra song came on. Thank you for your letters - while in boot camp, while in MCT, while in Iraq and anytime we've been apart. I cherish those so much. Thank you for holding me when I cry (with or without reason - and never making me feel stupid because I'm doing so), holding me up when I feel so down, holding our children with such love, pride and joy and for holding our marriage at the highest priority. Thank you for being chivalrous. For opening my door, for winking at me across the room, for making me feel beautiful when I feel at my worst and for showing our kids how a man should treat a woman. Thank you for "fighting fairly" with me and for having discussions and not actual fights. For being patient, honest, soft spoken, slow to anger, for communicating to me how you are feeling (even though as a man, it can be difficult to do) and never playing the "I'm fine, nothing's wrong" game. Thank you for not just hearing me but actually listening to me. Thank you for seeing me as an equal while taking full responsibility for leading our family. Thank you for taking me out on dates and refusing to let children or work get in the way with that. Thank you for kissing me when you get through the door...even before the kids. Thank you for washing dishes, for playing with the kids so I can get some "me time" (whether it's a pedicure or just a trip to the store), for vaccuming and doing the laundry. Those little things to you are such big things to me. Thank you for being the spiritual head in our family and for making sure that the Lord stays the center of it. Thank you for how hard you work -- for those 15, 18, 20+ hour days. I know it's tough on both of us, but you work so hard without ever complaining. Thank you for supporting our family and for pursuing your dreams. Thank you for serving our country - both in Iraq and now on our city streets -- and for coming home to us. I really could go on and on, but I hope that I tell you all this not only here or on special days but everyday of our crazy, wonderful, beautiful life. I know this little love note is pretty personal, but when you love someone as much as I love you, you just want the whole world to know! If I can't scream it from the rooftops, I can at least express it a blog! :) Thank you for these past 9 years and for making me still feel like a silly, young-in-love teenager who's stuck in the middle of a cheesy, Disney movie. May that never change with us.
With all my love, respect and devotion,
Jenn
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