20th Anniversary

Twenty years ago I could never have imagined where Shannon and I would be today.  Did my 19-year-old self imagine marriage as white picket fences, golden-haired children skipping happily through a field of daisies singing songs from the Sound of Music with my husband holding my hand tenderly?

Uh, yeah.

But that is not our reality.  Our reality is something much better.  The grimy, chaotic mess of day-to-day life in a larger family has dispelled any notions of picture perfect harmony, yet it is good.  Without the chaos I wouldn't appreciate the somewhat brief perfect moments.   But they are there and they are many, one just has to keep their eyes peeled.  Sometimes it is the field of daisies, most of the time it is a moment of love shared, unrecognized by most.

~ Washing dishes after a long day of work.

~ Teaching the boys how to wash the dishes well.

~ Caring for sick kids in the middle of the night.

~ Patience with my often impetuous behavior.

~ Sorting the what-seems-like-millions of unpaired socks, making jokes while doing it.

~ Making me laugh.

~ Encouraging me to see the positive.

~ His can-do attitude....there is nothing we cannot accomplish together.

The support I feel from him as we struggle through this pregnancy shows his love for life.  This man that I married that desired two, one, or none children now has seven.  He used to spend many hours in the woods hunting as much as he liked....well maybe not as much as he liked....but quite a lot. Now, he says he is even more fortunate while hunting with one or two kiddos tagging along because it has forced him to move slowly, thus actually seeing more animals, despite not hunting as frequently.  

Everything you do, Shannon, is out of love for me and our family.  Thank you for being there through the thick and the thin, the fun and the not-so-fun moments of our life together.

YOU are definitely my better half, I love you!

You just had to do something scandalous!