My wife is a wonderfully wise and witty woman. She is my strength, and she inspires me. She supports me in my endeavors, calls me on my weirdness, and is there to whack me with a reality check when I need one. She is the yen of my yang, the apple of my eye, and the mother of my children.
I met my wife in 1989, our second year of college. It took me six months of chasing her around to finally convince her that I was the one for her. We have been an exclusive item ever since. We both graduated with our Bachelor's , as well as Master's degrees before I officially proposed to her (I had proposed a hundred times before, but it was just in passing!). I thought her family was going to have me strung up for waiting so long, but I felt the need for some stability before making that level of commitment. An ok job, formal education behind us, and the opportunity to get to really know each other (not that way!), but some time to grow together and form mutual hobbies, while feeling good about maintaining our individuality as well.
We finally got married on July, 7, 1995, and it was a tremendous party. Anytime our family and friends get together, the town better watch out...We threw down for 3 days (beginning the 4th of July) before the wedding, adn 2 days afterwards. After which, we jetted off to the Virgin Islands, where we played the island hopping game for 2 weeks.We backpacked, whitewater rafted, mountain climbed and explored through the 90's, and then in 2000, the real adventure began!
We were blessed with our first little girl, Jordan. She is a precocious , outgoing little girl that is a true people pleaser. Our first child led me to change my entire professional career on its ear, and I began working nights in order to be a stay at home dad during the day. I worked this schedule until each of my kids started Montessori School, and I loved every moment of the experience.
Our second child, Taylor, born in 2002, is the most gentle, loving little boy that anybody could ever meet. His intelligence is unparalleled, astounding us each day with his various knowledge in which he graces us.
Our third baby, Avery, born in 2004 was a thrill-seeker from the start. She arrived 4 weeks early, and scared the devil out of us! Since that time, my youngest causes my heart to skip a beat regularly. I admire her level of curiosity and free-spiritedness every day.
I write this tonight because I haven't gotten to see my family much this past week, as I've been away from home healing from a recent neck surgery. I am supposed to get clearance to drive from the doctor tomorrow, and he will determine whether I can handle the excitement my little ones generate anytime I'm around. This is the longest I've been away from my wife and kids, and while they get to visit, the time is never enough. I've always been the one to get on the floor and play rough and tumble, and I am not even supposed to hold them at this point. I toldmy kids I'd write a story about them while I got better, so this is it. I miss them terribly!
Now, I know you are thinking, "the title of the story is 'My Better Half', and when one refers to this, they are speaking of their spouse". Well, this is who I used to refer to when using the statement, but now that our babies are with us, I must confess that I am speaking of my whole family. I feel like I'm the luckiest person alive to have been blessed with such a wonderful family, and I thank God every day for the blessings He's allowed me.
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