The 5th Anniversary
Dear M&M,
Lately, life has been full of all kinds of milestones for us. You guys had a couple of huge ones these last 2 years. You saw your first football games, ate your first meals, pooped on me for the first time, and of course, you were born. You will have milestones your whole life, and most of them are worth celebrating (if they truly are milestones). As you know, I am most proud of being your Dad, and married to your Mom, and this year, we celebrated our fateful trip to Vegas for the 5th time (I finally took her on a real date). I always like hearing the story of how my parents got together, so now you get yours, in honor of the occasion.
10 years ago, I was a young whippersnapper, just going through high school, not sure what was in store. Then, I met your Mom, a few weeks later went on a date, some dances, and before long I gave her beef jerky, just to show I was serious. We had some ups and downs in the years after, as we grew up and figured out who we were, but for 4 years, we were like the gum on each other's shoes. We couldn't quite get rid of each other all the way, so we figured we better see what we really have, on our shoes and in life.
Six years ago, I was broke, had no job, no college major, was sleeping on friends' couches, and had a broken arm. So naturally, I asked your Mom if she wanted to spend the rest of her life with me. (It actually worked out really well, because you are supposed to spend 3 months salary on a ring, and since I had no job, anything over $0.00 was above and beyond).
We took a trip up to Chicago for a Rams game. I was literally shaking from nerves, and almost busted myself out 100 times.We went to the very end of Navy Pier, and I had this dialog planned:
Me: "It sure is pretty out here"
Your Mom would say: "It sure is"
Me: "You know what else is?"
Her: "What?"
Me: "Us spending our life together, will you marry me?"
Here is what happened:
Me: "It sure is pretty out here"
Your Mom: "I disagree. I hate being so close to water at night. Plus it's nasty"
Needless to say, I improvised, got down on one knee, which proved to be difficult because one arm was in cast, and got the ring out, which was also difficult with one arm. Then, I grabbed the wrong hand when I asked. I would say things didn't go very smoothly, but they must have, because she said yes.
1 year after that, we were both working good jobs, and living in Mascoutah, and paying for a destination wedding in Hawaii. I came home one day and decided the best thing for us was for me to quit my job, move us 3 hours away, and go back to school to try to get another good job. Better yet, we should also head to Vegas to celebrate!
Once again, your Mom agreed, and off we went.We decided on the flight there that we would go ahead and tie the knot. We started drinking, eating, and celebrating immediately. Naturally, the first place we went was to check into our hotel, where a short, overweight, bald, nerdy ass looking middle aged man told us we were dumb to get married and should live our lives. I won't repeat what your mom said, but we recovered quickly and got back to living it up in Vegas. Here is how the trip went:
Day 1: We are getting married!!! Let's go out and celebrate!!
Day 2: Wake up late. We celebrated too hard, and didn't get married, but today we are getting married!! Let's go out and celebrate!!!
Day 3: Same as Day 2
Day 4: Same as Day 3, but got a license to get married from the courthouse.
Day 5: We rushed around. I showered but rushed and forgot to wash my hair. We rented your mom a dress. Got her hair and makeup done. Found a chapel. We were getting nervous, so your Mom said: "Don't worry about it, there's always Divorce". We got married, started popping champagne, turned in the rental car late (and paid many extras), and barely made our flight.
Since then, not that much has changed. We did move, and did get a degree. We then moved again, and finally again, to be where we are now. We still live pretty spontaneously, so there is no telling what you guys will have going on next year, the next month, or even tomorrow. Our humor is about as appropriate as a tuxedo T-shirt at a funeral, but it works for us. One day, you will find your other half, and your world will change (maybe you can write a letter to me about it).
We have had mostly ups, a few downs, career changes, moves, a dog, houses, a few cars, sporting events, concerts, hikes, lazy days, active days, crazy days, friends all over the country, bad football teams to root for (for all 10 years), good baseball teams to root for (for all 10 years), softball , kickball and volleyball leagues we played in, and of course, pregnancies. In addition to being pretty crazy in general, we are still pretty crazy about each other.
You guys were definitely born into a house of love and lots of laughing. Your Mom and I started out two kids in love, then became two parts of a team (we named it Staniel), and then you two were brought in to make our team better, like our little September Minor-League call-ups. I wouldn't know what my life is about (or what I would clean off of me), if I wasn't on this team. My plan, which changed always, and was never really a plan anyway, worked out just the way I planned.
So, if I could go back 10 years ago and visit myself, I would say "Stop kicking rocks and kiss that girl before she has to ask you to, because she will never let you forget that she had to make the 1st move." Other than that, I would not do a single thing different.
Thanks for reading, and here's to many more Anniversarys.
Love,
Dad
Lately, life has been full of all kinds of milestones for us. You guys had a couple of huge ones these last 2 years. You saw your first football games, ate your first meals, pooped on me for the first time, and of course, you were born. You will have milestones your whole life, and most of them are worth celebrating (if they truly are milestones). As you know, I am most proud of being your Dad, and married to your Mom, and this year, we celebrated our fateful trip to Vegas for the 5th time (I finally took her on a real date). I always like hearing the story of how my parents got together, so now you get yours, in honor of the occasion.
10 years ago, I was a young whippersnapper, just going through high school, not sure what was in store. Then, I met your Mom, a few weeks later went on a date, some dances, and before long I gave her beef jerky, just to show I was serious. We had some ups and downs in the years after, as we grew up and figured out who we were, but for 4 years, we were like the gum on each other's shoes. We couldn't quite get rid of each other all the way, so we figured we better see what we really have, on our shoes and in life.
Six years ago, I was broke, had no job, no college major, was sleeping on friends' couches, and had a broken arm. So naturally, I asked your Mom if she wanted to spend the rest of her life with me. (It actually worked out really well, because you are supposed to spend 3 months salary on a ring, and since I had no job, anything over $0.00 was above and beyond).
We took a trip up to Chicago for a Rams game. I was literally shaking from nerves, and almost busted myself out 100 times.We went to the very end of Navy Pier, and I had this dialog planned:
Me: "It sure is pretty out here"
Your Mom would say: "It sure is"
Me: "You know what else is?"
Her: "What?"
Me: "Us spending our life together, will you marry me?"
Here is what happened:
Me: "It sure is pretty out here"
Your Mom: "I disagree. I hate being so close to water at night. Plus it's nasty"
Needless to say, I improvised, got down on one knee, which proved to be difficult because one arm was in cast, and got the ring out, which was also difficult with one arm. Then, I grabbed the wrong hand when I asked. I would say things didn't go very smoothly, but they must have, because she said yes.
1 year after that, we were both working good jobs, and living in Mascoutah, and paying for a destination wedding in Hawaii. I came home one day and decided the best thing for us was for me to quit my job, move us 3 hours away, and go back to school to try to get another good job. Better yet, we should also head to Vegas to celebrate!
Once again, your Mom agreed, and off we went.We decided on the flight there that we would go ahead and tie the knot. We started drinking, eating, and celebrating immediately. Naturally, the first place we went was to check into our hotel, where a short, overweight, bald, nerdy ass looking middle aged man told us we were dumb to get married and should live our lives. I won't repeat what your mom said, but we recovered quickly and got back to living it up in Vegas. Here is how the trip went:
Day 1: We are getting married!!! Let's go out and celebrate!!
Day 2: Wake up late. We celebrated too hard, and didn't get married, but today we are getting married!! Let's go out and celebrate!!!
Day 3: Same as Day 2
Day 4: Same as Day 3, but got a license to get married from the courthouse.
Day 5: We rushed around. I showered but rushed and forgot to wash my hair. We rented your mom a dress. Got her hair and makeup done. Found a chapel. We were getting nervous, so your Mom said: "Don't worry about it, there's always Divorce". We got married, started popping champagne, turned in the rental car late (and paid many extras), and barely made our flight.
Since then, not that much has changed. We did move, and did get a degree. We then moved again, and finally again, to be where we are now. We still live pretty spontaneously, so there is no telling what you guys will have going on next year, the next month, or even tomorrow. Our humor is about as appropriate as a tuxedo T-shirt at a funeral, but it works for us. One day, you will find your other half, and your world will change (maybe you can write a letter to me about it).
You guys were definitely born into a house of love and lots of laughing. Your Mom and I started out two kids in love, then became two parts of a team (we named it Staniel), and then you two were brought in to make our team better, like our little September Minor-League call-ups. I wouldn't know what my life is about (or what I would clean off of me), if I wasn't on this team. My plan, which changed always, and was never really a plan anyway, worked out just the way I planned.
So, if I could go back 10 years ago and visit myself, I would say "Stop kicking rocks and kiss that girl before she has to ask you to, because she will never let you forget that she had to make the 1st move." Other than that, I would not do a single thing different.
Thanks for reading, and here's to many more Anniversarys.
Love,
Dad
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