Why yes, I did bring a suitcase to the chess tournament

/ Stephanie / 5 Comments

My son started playing chess last year at school.  They had very good club, led by a chess master.  He learned a great deal and had enough confidence to go to a tournament that spring.  I don’t know what I expected from a chess tournament, but I was completely blown away by the experience.  This is a culture all its own.  In general, it seems entire families are involved in the game.  And it is highly competitive.  The kids are precocious and the parents are largely of the tiger-variety.  That particular tournament went on for hours.  It was pretty unorganized.  My ipad lost its charge halfway through.  I was forced to make small talk for an excruciating amount of time.  Anyone who knows me well knows that any amount of small talk is excruciating for me. I was beside myself with happiness when Jake did not win any certificates or medals and we were able to get out of there before the awards ceremony.

He joined the chess club at his middle school, but ended up dropping it because it’s run by a parent and is really just a free-for-all.  He said he didn’t really learn anything and that none of the kids really took it seriously.  We went to New York in December and happened upon the Village Chess Shop in Greenwich Village.  It’s a fabulous little shop that’s been there for over 40 years.  It’s open 24 hours a day and you pay a per hour fee to play.  I imagine it functions much like a mission, whether anyone involved really thinks of it that way, especially at 2:00am. They told us about the US Chess Center in DC and suggested we look at classes there.

The US Chess Center is fabulous.  Their primary mission is to teach chess to children, especially those in the inner city, as a means of improving their academic and social skills.  The Saturday classes draw kids from all over the DC Metro area and they hold tournaments as well.  The first tournament that we attended here was well organized, but still insane as far as some of the parents are concerned.  They don’t allow parents in the room at all and we are not allowed to lurk and look in the windows during play.  Apparently, sometimes parents will try to give their kids cues — and yes, that’s cheating.  The last thing Jake would want me doing is trying to help him in chess.  I don’t even know which direction a rook can move.  I have seen parents throw fits over whether or not their child is going to play another child with a lower rating.  I have seen parents get asked to leave because they don’t follow the rules.  I once witnessed a little boy — who could not have been more than 9 years old — get berated by his mother because he lost.  She told his that this was not how he was going to get a chess scholarship and made him call his father to explain the move that he made that lost him the game.

Yes, chess scholarship.  They have them.

So parents don’t just ruin baseball and football games.  They aren’t just crazy on “Dance Moms”.  Some parents are just crazy.  I’ve decided that there must be something missing in their lives to have so much invested in how well their children perform in competition.  (Maybe it’s the same thing that is making 50 Shades of Grey end up in the #1 spot on the best-sellers list…)  Don’t get me wrong…I don’t think there’s anything wrong with encouraging your child and cheering them on and being proud of them when they win.  But, to place the kind of pressure that I see some kids endure is doing them a disservice, I think.  I always tell Jake that you can learn more from losing than winning.

So, here I am — at another chess tournament.  I’m a total fish out of water.  But, I’ve learned to bring my ipad charger.  Today, I brought two so that I could loan it to a newbie (it’s already spoken for).  I brought snacks and drinks and I have plenty of work to catch up on.  I ended up putting it all in a rolling suitcase because I took Metro in today.  I’ve also spent enough time sitting on the floor to know that a folding camp chair is a good idea as well.  At the last minute, I wore my Life is Good that says “Smile”.  It’s a reminder to myself that this is just a game as well as a not so subtle message to others who get too worked up about this stuff.  Unfortunately, the people who should get the message are not the ones who do.

I want to point out that not *all* chess parents are like what I’ve described.  They are the ones who have laughed at my shirt.  They also are the ones I loan my ipad charger and folding chair to.

Discovery

/ Stephanie / 2 Comments

This morning, Jake had an orthodontist appointment. My plan was to drop him off at school afterward and then go home and crawl back in bed. No amount of lipstick is going to help me today. The achey, fatigued feeling I had yesterday had turned into a cough and fever. As we left the parking lot, the radio announcers were talking about the Space Shuttle Discovery which was headed toward DC to its new home at the Smithsonian. I had been looking forward to it, since my office is right on the Potomac River in Georgetown. I knew we’d have a front row seat to the show, but I’d decided to just watch it on TV. Jake asked if it would be visible from their school and I said no. “Awwwww, that’s too bad”, he said. I looked in the rear view mirror and saw him sitting there in his Nationals jersey and wearing the ballcap that he got on opening day. Taking him out of school for that was never even a question. And here we are, just a few miles from where we could view this historic last flight of the shuttle that spent almost exactly one year in space over a span of nearly three decades (according to Wikipedia, the spacecraft spent 365 days, 22 hours, 39 minutes and 29 seconds in space).

So I kept driving. This was something Jake shouldn’t miss. This the kind of thing that makes living here special. It’s the kind of thing he will remember forever, unlike whatever he was going to miss in the 2 additional hours that he’d be out of school.

As I got closer to Georgetown (I decided to park in my regular lot and walk over to the Key Bridge), I started to get really excited. This was a little surprising to me since I’ve never really been all that enamored by air and space programs. In fact, I usually try to avoid the Air and Space Museum when we have visitors that want to go there. This, by the way is pretty much blasphemy since the air and space program has put food on our families tables for years. My father retired from the airlines, Lloyd’s step-dad spent his whole career at Boeing and his dad did contract work for NASA after retiring from the military.

It was an amazing sight. The shuttle strapped to the top of a 747. It was unreal. As we stood there watching and taking pictures as the plane escorted Discovery on a victory lap over DC, I heard Jake start to hum “God Bless America”. (I could not make this stuff up if I tried). Then he turned to me and said “Thanks for bringing me to see this, Mom. It makes me proud to be American”.

So he got to school in time to attend 4 of his 7 classes and he witnesses a little piece of history. If the truancy officers contact me, I’ll just send them these pictures. They don’t in any way do justice to the event, but I hope you enjoy them–especially those of you who weren’t in a place to decide whether or not to go and witness it in person.

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Lipstick junkie….be funky….

/ Stephanie / 2 Comments

I have long held the opinion that one should never tell a woman that she looks tired.  Because really, it’s just another way to tell her that she looks like something the cat dragged in.  The proper thing to say is “Honey, you need some lipstick”.  Only if you’re a woman though.  Men are not allowed to tell a woman she needs lipstick.  Ever.  You also shouldn’t tell her that she looks tired.  Instead, if you are her significant other, always tell her that you think she looks amazing.  She will know you are full of shit, but she’ll also know that you love her and that will keep you out of the dog house.  If you are of the male persuasion and not in an intimate relationship with a woman though, just ignore the fact that she looks like hell and make a mental note to just go a little easy on her that day.

I was driving in to work this morning and I thought to myself, “this is a bright lipstick day”.  I’m exhausted — it’s a body aching kind of fatigue.  It’s bordering on a “maybe I’m getting sick” kind of feeling.  So, I made a mental note to put some lipstick on before I got to the office.  And, of course I forgot.

The FIRST thing that my (male) co-worker said to me as I passed by his desk on the way to my office?  “Wow…you look tired this morning”.  I tried to muster a snarky response but I’m honestly too tired for snark today.  So, I promptly pulled out my new purchase from bareMinerals:  Pretty Amazing Lipcolor.  The color is “Confidence”.  Perfect.  I put it on and guess what the very next thing somebody (female) said to me was?  “You look so pretty today!” Somebody at bareMinerals knows what they are talking about.

Now, I could dwell on the idea that she seemed a little too surprised in her reaction.  But, I won’t.  It did remind me of the time I was in an elevator with Jake, who was about 2 years old at the time.  This well-meaning woman told me how absolutely beautiful my little boy was.  As I smiled and thanked her, she followed it up with “he must look JUST like his daddy”.  I must have needed lipstick that day.

 

Laundromats and Memories

/ Stephanie / 1 Comment

Lloyd has this habit of reading my mind. I do it to him, too. I guess we are beyond finishing each others sentences and are now at the point in our relationship where we don’t even have to talk. He and Jake went out to run some errands this afternoon. Before they left, I thought to myself that I should have him wash the car. But I didn’t say anything. He washed the car. While they were gone, I almost called to suggest he run by the pet store to get the cat a new collar and tag. I didn’t. Guess what he came home with? So, we were telling Jake how that happens to us a lot and that we have been together for 20 years, so it’s to be expected. As any good pre-teen will do, he jumped on the chance to point out that I was wrong—that we had been together for 19 years. I reminded him that we had dated for a while before we got married. Then I realized that it was exactly a year ago today that we became an exclusive couple.

As I’ve written about before, our first “date” was in December 1991. And yes, I came home from that date announcing to my roommate that I’d found the man I was going to marry. But it was a little more complicated than that. We both had other relationships that we were involved in and neither one of us was that interested in another. But, something just kept drawing us together. He worked overnights at a local radio station on the weekends. I had insomnia and we would talk on the phone for hours….sometimes his entire shift. On my 21st birthday, he asked if he could make me breakfast, which I thought was very sweet. I went out at midnight to celebrate, but managed to drag myself to his apartment that morning. Okay, I had decided to blow it off, but he called to wake me up, so I went. Anybody who knows me well knows that I don’t really talk to anyone before 10am, so this was really significant. Other than that, we saw each other at the Evergreen where we both worked and occasionally, I would give him a ride to or from campus because we lived close to one another. Beyond that, our worlds just didn’t really cross paths much. He did tell me once to stop by anytime though and right after I ended the aforementioned relationship, I happened to be at a party in his apartment building. My friends convinced me that I should go over and visit him. I knew that he wasn’t going to work for a couple of hours–and I had some liquid courage in me (I was 21 after all), so I knocked on his door. He answered and seemed a little surprised to see me. Turns out, there was a girl there and they were watching a movie, “What about Bob”. I knew her and wasn’t really impressed with the situation, so since he had invited me in, I stayed and watched the rest of the movie with them. Awkward is probably an understatement. I didn’t care. Shortly after that, he mentioned that his band was playing at a local bar. So, I talked a couple of my friends into going with me. He was surprised that I showed up. Same girl was there. He left with her. Again, awkward.

I don’t know why we kept hanging out after all of this. But we did. And on April 7th, I took him to the laundromat so could both do laundry. That was the night he kissed me for the first time. 4 months after our first date. I had kissed a couple of guys before (okay, four), but this was different. I didn’t know this kind of kiss existed. This was what fairy tales talked about–the kind of kiss that would wake Sleeping Beauty. True love’s kiss. This kiss left Westley and Buttercup’s kiss in the dust. He felt it too. I’ve often joked that he married me because I would sit through a 9 inning baseball game without complaining. Tonight, as we told Jake this story, he said it was that kiss. It was about that time that Jake asked I he could please be excused from the dinner table. He was appalled that this all involved a laundromat. Honestly, I had no idea that he even knew what a laundromat was. And let’s face it….no 12 year old wants to talk about kissing. They especially don’t want to talk about their parents kissing.

From then on, we’ve been pretty much inseparable. Twenty years later, there is nobody I’d rather spend my time with. People often ask me how I knew that Lloyd was “the one”. I think you just know. And the first kiss should be one that leaves you knowing that this is somebody you never want to live without. Yes, it may embarrass our kid now, but he knows his parents love each other and there’s a lot to be said for that.

By the way, I’m not a freaky “date” person. There have been many April 7ths that have gone by without me even thinking about it. Since it was then that things became “exclusive” it seemed like the natural date to call our anniversary at the time. And then, by sheer coincidence, the date Lloyd proposed was December 7th, 8 months later, which was kind of cool, so that’s why it sticks in my mind. Kind of funny that it came up today though.

 

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Vacation according to Jake

/ Stephanie / 1 Comment

We have been in Cancun for several days now. I’m not sure how many because I don’t know what today is. I know that it is the opening day of baseball stateside and that fact is driving my baseball fanatic son crazy. Truth be told, it’s driving my husband crazy, too. But, there is TV here and as luck would have it, the Nationals are not playing at home until next week, so we aren’t missing it.

This is the second best vacation Jake’s ever had, he says. Spring training in Florida is still #1. It is the best international vacation ever though. And no, it’s not the only international vacation. He’s been to Canada. 😉

We are here with our dear friends, whom we met because our boys became instant friends when they were in choir together in Olympia. They are among the few people that I would spend a week with and the truth is, the trip wouldn’t be as fun without them. Our kids keep each other busy and free from boredom. Apparently, you can get bored sitting by the pool. I don’t get it, but it’s what I’ve been told. The adults keep each other busy and free from throttling our kids when they get bored. It’s been a great week so far. Lloyd always dreads taking me to the beach because he’s afraid I’ll never leave. After this vacation, I think he might have to worry about both of us — meaning me and Jake.

The surf lesson started it. I wasn’t sure he’d like it, but Jake will try anything once. And after he got up a couple of times, he was hooked. After his two hour lesson (shared with his buddy), he wanted to know if he could have a lesson every day that we were here. I also want to take a minute to give a BIG shout out to Dave at 360 Surf School in Cancun. He was awesome and really made the difference for the boys. He also saved Jake from getting pulled out by the current when Mr. King of the World decided that he could go further out than was safe. Dave didn’t miss a beat and swam out to get him as the lifeguard stood by and watched (although I am sure he would have helped if needed). He also used it as a valuable teaching lesson, which made a much bigger impact than anything we could have said to him in that moment. If you are ever in Cancun, definitely look him up.

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Last night, we went to Margaritaville Cancun to celebrate our friends’ granddaughter’s 10th birthday. It was a blast. We all sang Jimmy Buffett songs at the top of our lungs. Jake had his first “piña colada” and shortly thereafter was on stage dancing. Give this boy a stage and he is completely at home. It’s a little scary sometimes to see him embrace the party scene the way he does, but I envy that he is willing to have fun without worrying what other people think. I wish my dad could have been with us. When I was in 5th grade he took me to see my first concert–Jimmy Buffett at the Greek Theatre in LA. It was then that I decided I wanted to be a Coral Reefer Girl when I grew up. I still want to be a Coral Reefer Girl when I grow up. Now, watching my son sing “Margaritaville” while wearing a Fins Up hat made me smile as I realized we had three generations of Parrotheads in the family.

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The best part of the night though was doing Tequila shots with my bestie and then hearing Jake say: “Well, that was awkward”.

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It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

/ Stephanie / 2 Comments

“I love baseball. You know it doesn’t have to mean anything, it’s just beautiful to watch.” Woody Allen as Leonard Zelig.

Today is my second favorite holiday. Easter is first (more on that later). Opening Day of baseball season is second. Our family loves the game. I often joke that my husband decided to marry me when he realized I was not only willing to sit through a 9 inning baseball game, but that I enjoyed sitting through a 9 inning baseball game. It’s actually probably more true than not though. Many of my favorite memories with Lloyd have been surrounding baseball games. We remember, with fondness, watching the Mariners play in the Kingdome, with the roughly other 1,000 fans there in the early 90’s. Okay, that is a bit of an exaggeration, but it was at a time when the team was not enjoying much success or record attendance. I met Lloyd’s sister for the first time in the Kingdome. She was in town and met us there for a game. I also met my sister-in-law for the first time in the Kingdome. Lloyd’s brother had just begun dating her and we went to a game together. As a matter of fact, the first time my step-mother met Lloyd was at Washington State University during Mom’s weekend in 1992. We went to a WSU baseball game. Baseball is part of our relational DNA.

We loved the M’s. I still remember the 1994 lineup. We knew before a swing was even finished that Jr was going to hit it out of the park. I can’t think of Jay Buhner without hearing his batter up song in my mind – “Bad to the Bone”. It wasn’t a banner year for the M’s – far from it, but we could tell they were on the brink. The next year, we went to Spring Training in Arizona and before it was over, we’d decided to move. We returned to Washington, packed up everything we owned — which at the time fit into a small U-Haul trailor — and hit the road. That year, the Mariners won the division. Watching Edgar Martinez hit for a double that drove Ken Griffey, Jr home for the win in the 11th inning of Game 5 was sweet…but sweeter still was that it was against the Yankees. My, oh my. To this day, I can’t sing “Take me out to the Ballgame” without immediately launching in to “Louie Louie”.

Arizona was a great place to be a baseball fan. Spring training games were a blast to attend and we could always count on visitors during that time. I remember taking a weekend trip to Tucson to watch the Colorado Rockies play — I had just found out I was pregnant with our son. In the fall, we could go to Fall League games, paying a mere $5 to see top prospects who could go on to be major league stars. This was baseball at it’s best because the players were there to play hard and get the attention of baseball scouts and team executives.

As much as we enjoyed the baseball that Arizona had to offer, we missed going to major league games and we did our best to attend other games whenever we could. In 1997, I surprised Lloyd for his birthday and took him to see his favorite team, the LA Dodgers. We had a great time and were so in awe of the stadium that had such history (and, at the time, only one advertiser). It was major league baseball at it’s most authentic.

In 1998, the Arizona Diamondbacks arrived on the scene. Not only we were able to be at the inagural game, we watched it from the pool at what was then BankOne Ballpark. While I am not a huge fan of what I like to call “Theme park” stadiums, I do have an affinity for this particular facility. I think it’s because of all of the memories attached to attending the games. I remember the people I was with more than the players on the field, but that was okay — they were still among some of my favorite memories. Our son attended his first major league baseball game in this stadium, wearing the first piece of clothing I bought when I found out I was pregnant — an AZ Diamondbacks onsie. We moved away in 2001, the year the Diamonbacks won the World Series (are you catching the theme here?) and while I still have a soft spot for the D-Backs, I don’t really follow them and I still can’t quite reconcile the “Sedona Red” color scheme.

We moved back to Washington in 2002 and since we lived in Olympia, it was harder to attend games on a regular basis. We went to a couple of games a year. We always tried to hit the opening series and it’s a tradition to take Lloyd to a game on Father’s Day. In 2008, we had to buy a fleece hat for Jake on Opening Day because it snowed.

Mariner's Opening Day - 2008

The first gift Lloyd bought for our son was a t-ball mitt. Jake was just born, only 3 pounds. He fit inside of it. Lloyd had dreams of teaching Jake to play and coaching his little league team. When he was in Kindergarten, we promptly signed him up for T-Ball, but he was totally disinterested. He would kneel down in the outfield and write music in the dirt. He didn’t like it and didn’t want to do it. So, we backed off. We can’t make our kids be who we want them to be. We just can’t. Jake would tolerate the couple of games we went to a year for his dad’s sake. He was excited when we surprised Lloyd for his 40th birthday with a trip to Boston. We had tickets to see the Red Sox play the Yankees at Fenway. This was bucket list stuff, folks. I will never forget the look on Lloyd’s face as he walked up the ramp to get his first look at the field. Priceless. But, Jake didn’t fully appreciate the significance. And, he wasn’t a fan of the game. He never watched games on TV and didn’t even show much interest at Lloyd’s softball league games.

Lloyd's first look at Fenway Park

Then came 2010. We went on vacation to Washington DC for spring break with our friends and got tickets for Game 3 of the National’s opening series against Philly. We had great tickets and it was a beautiful day. Sitting in the seats with a cold beer was a welcome change from the miles and miles of walking we had been doing for several days. The Phillies were fresh off of two years of World Series appearances and the Nationals were, well, not that good. A win by the Phillies would sweep the Nationals in this series. The game was tied in the 7th, when Ryan Zimmerman stepped up to the plate, doubled to right and drove in the tie-breaking run. The Nationals managed to hold back the Phillies and win the game. The crowd went wild and a fan was born. Even though we had no ties to Washington DC and the idea of moving here was the furthest thing from our minds, Jake was drawn in by that moment, that player, that team and by the game itself.

Brand new Nats fans

It’s hard not to think that the trip here that spring was preparing us for the move that God was about to have us make. When the job came up, we could picture the city, we could see ourselves here and as small as it may seem, Jake was a Nationals fan. But, that small thing gave him something to talk about with the boys at the lunchroom table and a connection to his new home. He knows the players, studies the stats, collects the cards, makes up games in his head and calls them in the shower and dreams of being a major league short stop. He’s developed a love for the game that is all is own, just like his dad. And, it gives them a special connection. They are anticipating their eventual trip to Cooperstown to celebrate the inaguration of Ken Griffey, Jr into the Hall of Fame. They eagerly await the announcement of the location 2013 All-Star Game. They cheered the extension of Ryan Zimmerman’s contract and they anticipate watching Bryce Harper play in the majors. Just as it was with 1994 Mariners, we see a team on the brink of something big. This may not be the year, but it’s getting close. And, the team is a ton of fun to watch.

This morning, the Mariners and the A’s opened the MLB 2012 season in Japan. Jake was up earlier than he is on Christmas day to try and watch the game. Unfortunately, it was tape delayed and wouldn’t begin until 9am EST, so he was following the box scores on MLB.com. The M’s won 3-1 in the 11th. And, so begins another exciting year. We’re looking forward to the National’s home opener on April 12th when we have begun a tradition of allowing Jake to miss school for the game. We’ll help the Nats “take back the park” against the Phillies in May. We will be there on Father’s Day to cheer them on as they play the Yankees for the first time ever in National’s Park. We’ll have a friendly rivalry with our Chicago friends as we celebrate their daughter’s first birthday at the ballpark on Labor Day when the Nats take on the Cubs. And, then we’ll celebrate our son’s 13th birthday, a day late, when the Dodgers come to town. We hope to add a couple of more ballparks to our list this summer as well, as we try to catch games in Colorado and Pennsylvania. And, then there will be the days when we spontaneously decide catch a game because it just seems like the best idea. Because really, isn’t a baseball game on a summer day always the best idea?

Rivalry Day - 2010

Happy Opening Day. Let’s play ball.

You always get a special kick on opening day, no matter how many you go through. You look forward to it like a birthday party when you’re a kid. You think something wonderful is going to happen.

JOE DIMAGGIO

Life According to Jake

/ Stephanie / Leave a comment

I don’t know what is going on lately but my kid has absolutely been cracking me up. I swear I don’t post every single thing he says. On that note….

We stopped to get lunch this afternoon and Jake asked if he could have a chocolate chip cookie. In the car on the way home, he takes a bite and says “Ewwwwwwwww, it’s oatmeal raisin”. I sympathized….not many things are worse than expecting chocolate chips and getting raisins. (Ok, a lot of things are much worse, but still…). He says,

“I know that some people like oatmeal raisin, but I really think they must have started as a practical joke”.

My thoughts exactly.

Life According to Jake

/ Stephanie / Leave a comment

Nothing to report from Free Lunch Friday today. Conversation revolved around March Madness (and the pronunciation of Gonzaga) and St. Patrick’s Day plans. My plans consist of cheering my husband on during the DC Rock n Roll marathon and buying Jake a Shamrock Shake for his 1/2 birthday. I didn’t share those plans with anyone, although if I had, I’m sure I’d have something more to report from Free Lunch Friday.

Instead, I’ll share some recent 12 year old wisdom. I had a particularly crappy day at work yesterday. It’s unusual, really. I can’t remember the last time I had a bad day that was caused by stress at work. It completely wore me out and I was sound asleep before 10pm. When he was headed to bed, Jake said “I’m sorry you had a bad day today. Bad days are…well, bad”. Genius.

And last weekend, we were in Florida, staying at a beachfront hotel. While we were walking out to the beach, we passed by the hotel and Jake said “I don’t get why people would swim in a pool when the ocean is right there!”. Me neither.

Finally, on that same trip, my husband made a comment that he was going to have dessert first because life is short. Jake muttered under his breath that “he’s only in his 40’s. That’s middle age. it’s not that short”. Touché. At least he doesn’t think we’re ancient. Yet.

My True Companion – 19 years later

/ Stephanie / 4 Comments

I have writer’s block.  I have been trying to compose a post in my mind for a few days and now, as I sit in front of my screen, I will type out a few words and then delete them.  I’m not often speechless.  It’s not as though I don’t have a lot to say.  It’s that there is so much to say that I can’t even organize my thoughts.  And, even if I could, the words would be insufficient to express what’s in my heart.

It was 19 years ago today that I married my best friend.  Lloyd came along at a time in my life when I felt more alone than a person should ever feel.  I wasn’t really interested in a long-term relationship.  I definitely was not interested in getting married (ever) and I certainly didn’t want kids.  I did not believe in soul mates and happily ever after.  And, then I met this guy to whom I was immediately drawn.  Yes, there were reasons — he had a “still waters run deep” air about him, he was smart and wickedly funny and yes, I thought he was hot.  But, none of these really explain the attraction.  From almost the moment I laid eyes on him, I knew I wanted him to be part of my life. 

We eloped almost exactly a year from when we started dating seriously.  In retrospect, it was impetuous.  But, we just wanted to be together.  At the time, only one of us had a job (and it wasn’t a well paying one) and we didn’t yet have a place to live.  So, we lived with my inlaws for a few weeks until we were able to move into our own apartment. 

Let that sink in for a minute:  I ran off and married the eldest son and then came back to live with his parents.

I don’t exactly remember the vows I recited that day, 19 years ago.  But, I know they were traditional in nature.  Sickness, health, richer, poorer, we pledged to love eachother as long as we both shall live.  And over the years those vows have been tested as we have faced the kind of trials that even the strongest marriages can’t endure.  And every year, as we celebrate this day, I think that there is no way that I could love this man any more than I do today. But, I do.  I am abudantly blessed to have married a man who loves me despite my failures and short-comings, who believes in me despite my insecurities and who makes me want to be a better person. 

And, he does dishes and laundry. 

On our honeymoon in Key West, FL

19th anniversary - Sebastian Beach, FL