I...Just Want to Celebrate!!!!!

Something great is happening next Tuesday!! Something so great, that I want to share it with everybody! I want everybody to help me celebrate next Tuesday (even though I will be out of pocket)! Want to know what is so great about next Tuesday?? Okay..here it is..

It is my 25th wedding anniversary!!!

That's right. Me and the love of my life will be celebrating 25 years of marital bliss together..next Tuesday..the 16th.

Wow!! 25 years! It truly seems like just a few days ago I was a giggly, silly 18 year old, just enjoying dating and working and learning (?) to be an adult. I was footloose and fancy free and enjoying it. Then one night at work (I worked on an assembly line at a furniture plant) I'm just doing my job, laughing with my fellow co-workers and then out of the corner of my eye..I see him..a new guy. Now, being 18 years old, I noticed all the new guys, but there was something different about this one. Hmmmm.....might have to check him out during break.

Sure enough when break time came, I went upstairs to get my nightly fix of cheese crackers and Coke. I went to sit down and who should be sitting at my break table?? You betcha!..this new guy. (See, I didn't realize it, but when he saw me, he decided he needed to check me out at break too!)

We begin with the small talk. You know that flirty, giggly stuff that our teenagers now are doing that causes us to roll our eyes....We exchange names and continue talking. All of a sudden he asks me a question:

"If I were to ask you to go out with me, would you go?"

Now, inside myself I'm snickering because this dude doesn't know me very well....at all honestly...and I'm fixing to take a jab at this new guy....

"Depends." says me.

"On what?"

Here we go....."On whether you ask me or not!"

I mean, hey, I had a date for Friday night and if this guy couldn't play along, I had a backup..right??

He sits there for a minute, processing what I just said and I'm sure contemplating in his mind if he even wants to give a smart-aleck the time of day, but he follows up with..

"Will you go out with me Friday night?"

Now, remember I said I already had a date for Friday night, but this guy really intrigued me. He was willing to play along with my smart-aleck attitude. Couldn't be all bad, right? So I said sure. Friday night sounded good. (We were off on Friday nights)

Now, I didn't meet my Savior until I was 27 so don't throw me to the lions just yet. I must confess that I didn't cancel my plans with date #1. I mean, what if this dude didn't show up? I had no intentions of sitting at home on Friday night! So we made plans for him to pick me up at 6. If he didn't show, date #1 would be there at 7. No harm right?? By the way... sorry, date #1.

But, lo and behold, he pulled up in my driveway and off we went with my mom fussing in the background about how she was going to have to explain things to date #1.

We had a great time! Went out to eat at KFC, which still happens to be one of our favorite places to eat! The conversation was great and he was SO cute!!

On our way home I made it very clear that this was not going to be a serious relationship. (go ahead and snicker!) I was having too much fun as a single gal and I just wasn't interested in anything serious. Kapiche???

4½ months later, on December 16, 1983, I married my best friend. The love of my life. My safe place. My strength.

Over our 25 years we've had our share of ups and downs, good and bad. We've laughed and cried, been on the mountain and in the lowest valley, but through it all, we've come through it together. Never quitting at the same time. One was always ready for the fight, which would encourage the other to get back up and keep striving for the goal.

I want to share little snippets of our 25 years in the week to come. Maybe it will encourage you, make you laugh or give you hope. For me though, it will be fun just to spend some time remembering.

Blessings....