Switching Gears

Switching Gears

I'm going to put everything aside for a minute or two. All the drama, all the emotion, all the everyday ins and outs of running a family. I'm going to forget that I've had a couple of really tearful days, that there are loads of laundry piling up, and that my kids think I pretty much do nothing on a daily basis.

For just right now, I'm going to take a few minutes and remind myself how lucky I am. I'm going to concentrate on the date and remember the significance of this day in my life. Twenty-five years ago, January 20, 1980, Super Bowl Sunday to be exact, I met the man that would change my life.

I spent some time today looking at pictures. It probably wasn't very smart considering I've been tearing up like crazy over minute things. But it seemed very necessary. As I flipped pages in albums, I smiled at the memories flashing before me. We've shared so many, made so many, and now have so many to cherish. It still stuns me that we're talking about a quarter of a century. I don't feel that much older, yet at the same time, I sometimes feel ancient. We were babies really. I was 19 and just out of a heartbreaking relationship. Charlie was 22 and not really looking for anything permanant.

I know it sounds trite and crazy, but I really did know the minute I met him that I was going to marry him. I just waited for his thoughts to catch up with mine. From that very first night, while the friends who introduced us sat inside and watched the Pittsburgh Steelers trounce the LA Rams, we sat outside in the moonlight and shared our thoughts, our dreams, and those things that make us who we are. I fell in love with him. I fell in love with the WHO of him. He made me feel safe, and whole, and completely and utterly treasured. He made all the hurt go away, and he promised me he would always be there. He's always kept his promises.

I could tell you 25 years worth of Charlie and Pua stories, but I'll spare you. This one's really only for me. It's a theater filled to capacity with just me. On the screen I see a girl who grows into a woman, a wife, and a mother, who is loved by a boy who grows into a man, a husband, and a father. We're in the best part of the show, you know. Down the line will come the part where Robert Browning's words come to life; "Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be." But for now, the plotline is about an amazing and loving friendship. A story that I'm sure, will have no end.

Happy 25th Meet-up Day Chooch. We're having the Super Bowl of Romances. Thank you for every single precious day. I love you.