Was and Is

For me, Daddy was:

• The carver of pumpkins and the trimmer of Christmas trees
• My Saturday morning cooking show and the grill master extraordinaire
• The doctor and pharmacist (Portuguese moonshine made any ailment better!)
• My own personal historian
• A pyromaniac who was lucky to have friends in high places
• A balladeer (especially after a few beers)
• My champion, even when I was in the wrong
• Always there for me and he always will be

For my children, Daddy is:

• The first one to change their diapers, as I was unable to stand up
• The originator of the Baby Face Eating Machine and the Tickle Wake Up Call
• The one they don't ask to stop singing
• The DJ for our family dance parties
• The bear hug giver (and when needed, the gentle belly rubber)
• The one who keeps my tendency to try and keep them babies in check
• Always there for them and always will be

(Note: I was unable to find a decent picture of my father and I as I don't have my wedding pictures loaded on my Mac and that is last decent picture of the two of us I remember being taken. But they exist and someday I will display them!)

Love Stinks - But It's So Worth It

Love is hard. It's only easy in the movies. True love requires patience and understanding and time. It requires a sense of humor and occasionally a swift kick in the ass.

Todd and I are not the perfect couple, but I've come to discover that there is no such thing as a perfect couple. Even celebrity couples who appear perfect on the red carpet probably go home and argue over who left the cap off of the toothpaste. Your friends - the ones who you look at and think "Why can't we be like them?" - have their own issues and struggles. Perfect does not exist in a marriage.

But Todd and I have patience and understanding and a sense of humor - we also occasionally have to give each other the aforementioned swift kick. We have days were we are in perfect sync and are a great team. And other days, we are two drunk monkeys careening in opposite directions. But that's where the time part comes in. We have the gift of tomorrow to try again to make things right.

Nine years ago we promised to be with each other for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health. And admittedly, some days we question whether we were in our right minds to make those kind of broad, sweeping vows before our family and friends and God.

But then we look at our children. And we find ourselves holding hands on drive home from a particularly bad restaurant experience with them. And we laugh. And we know we were right.

Happy Anniversary Todd. I love you more today than the day we married. I look forward to getting to the point where we can laugh about all of this together, sitting on a front porch in rocking chairs, holding hands.