This is the 33rd Valentine’s day I have spent with Marie.
The first one was, shall we say, a train wreck. I didn’t realize we needed reservations for dinner on this particular day (insert dumb guy joke here). So after figuring out that we couldn’t get in anywhere, we ended up eating White Castles by candlelight at her apartment.
The next ten Valentine’s days were okay; I learned my lesson from the first one and made my reservations in August.
Valentine’s was a shared holiday when the kids arrived in our lives. Different vibe, but still a lot of love.
The 18th Valentine’s was when Marie got really sick for the first time. Eight weeks in the Hospital and twice as long of a recovery made this Valentine’s special.
The next ten Valentines were okay, with the usual trials, tribulations, and curveballs you get from life; the kids grew, and our business had ups and downs. Arguments about money, the company, the kids, the designated hitter rule…you know…life. Love changes as you get older. The “we-can’t-keep-our-hands-off-each-other” style of love morphed into the warm glow of having that special person always there in your life.
Then Marie got really, really sick last August. I wondered if there was going to be another valentine’s with my co-collaborator, partner, and best friend. But, through the miracles of modern medicine, the support of our friends here and there, and Marie’s Extremely stubborn Irish personality, she is still with me.
I am stubborn, opinionated, think (knows) I’m always right, guy. And despite all that, that woman still loves me.
This is the 33rd Valentine’s day I have spent with Marie.
The first one was, shall we say, a train wreck. I didn’t realize we needed reservations for dinner on this particular day (insert dumb guy joke here). So after figuring out that we couldn’t get in anywhere, we ended up eating White Castles by candlelight at her apartment.
The next ten Valentine’s days were okay; I learned my lesson from the first one and made my reservations in August.
Valentine’s was a shared holiday when the kids arrived in our lives. Different vibe, but still a lot of love.
The 18th Valentine’s was when Marie got really sick for the first time. Eight weeks in the Hospital and twice as long of a recovery made this Valentine’s special.
The next ten Valentines were okay, with the usual trials, tribulations, and curveballs you get from life; the kids grew, and our business had ups and downs. Arguments about money, the company, the kids, the designated hitter rule…you know…life. Love changes as you get older. The “we-can’t-keep-our-hands-off-each-other” style of love morphed into the warm glow of having that special person always there in your life.
Then Marie got really, really sick last August. I wondered if there was going to be another valentine’s with my co-collaborator, partner, and best friend. But, through the miracles of modern medicine, the support of our friends here and there, and Marie’s Extremely stubborn Irish personality, she is still with me.
I am stubborn, opinionated, think (knows) I’m always right, guy. And despite all that, that woman still loves me.
Happy Valentine’s day, Marie.