I was remiss this month in writing about my wife. October 14th was our 3rdanniversary. I’m not sure what was happening, but evidently I was preoccupied. This rant is an effort to remedy that mistake. My wife is spending Halloween with her grandkids 800 miles away this weekend. I can honestly say that I’m not comfortable being this far away from her. Even if it is temporary.
I like to joke that the reason we got married was that she told me we had to. She doesn’t like that at all. She thinks she forced me into it. What she doesn’t know is that I really didn’t know how to ask. I had been single so long I didn’t know what was expected. When you’re 20 you think of large romantic gestures and public messages on a train tresle. In my late 40s it all came across seemly.
I can remember the first time I told her I loved her. We were in a crappy little apartment in Castle Rock, and I was sitting on the corner of the couch. I looked up at her and said “you know I’m in love with you, right?” From that point on I knew I would spend the rest of my life with her. There was no question in my mind that after 30 years of living alone, this was the person I would spend the rest of my life with.
It takes a lot for me to trust anyone. When you’re single for as long as I was you build up some pretty thick callouses. You learn that what people say, and what they actually do are polar opposites. When I met my wife for the first time I just expected her to be the same as everyone else. It didn’t take me long to realize that she is not like anyone I have ever met. She says what she thinks, and she follows through with what she promises…even if it means she has to give something up to benefit someone else.
My wife is the most honest, loving, and giving person I have ever met. She goes out of her way to show how much she loves me, and her family. I don’t envy her that she has to be so far away from her children and grandchildren. I’m glad she moved here to be with me. She has made the last few years the greatest I’ve ever had. Without question, I would marry her all over again.
It’s been three years now, and I’m not sure what I would do without her. She is the best companion I could ever have hoped for. I never have to wonder if she loves me. I know it without even asking. Her words always match her actions. With her there’s not a lot of sub text. I’m not saying that things can’t get a little crazy around here, but our crazy seems to work together. You can’t ask more than that.