My Sweetheart

Mike and I celebrated Valentine's Day by going to the movies and out to dinner with our friends Tanya and Darren. We saw 'The International' and it was eerily appropriate for what is happening in our strange economic times.

Since this year marks our tenth year of marriage in September, I would like to share a few (mushy) things:

1. I fall in love with Mike all over again when I re-read old cards and letters that he wrote; this is a good way to get out of a mind altering funk that I sometimes find myself in when I get annoyed by little things. You know what I'm talking about, girlfriends.

2. I fall in love with Mike all over again when he gets up early with the boys on weekends so I get a little extra snooze time. He gets up early anyway during the week, yet he does this for me. What a man.

3. I fall in love with Mike all over again when he spends time with the boys taking them on adventures, taking them out of the house so I can relax for a few hours, and when he wrestles & plays with them.

4. I fall in love with Mike all over again when he acquiesces to Christian's desire for Daddy to have a 'sleepover' in his room.

5. I fall in love with Mike all over again when he, by example, shows a steadiness, patience, and potty-free mouth (in contrast to me). And humor!

Potty training blues -- Jojo gets more use out of Gaby's underwear than Gaby does at this point!

6. In the end, love is all that matters in a relationship. There are ups and downs, unexpected occurrences, day-to-day blahness at times, and dizzying perplexities other times. Yet, marriage is so worth it -- all the work and struggles mean something.

My dad gave a very special speech during our wedding service, and I close with some of his words of wisdom: "We Christians identify marriage as Matrimony. It is centered around motherhood, the family. We never refer to it as the sacrament of Patrimony...So we can't let a young couple run off and start their own thing. We have to make a big deal out of it. We do that to let them know that what they are doing is the right thing, that it is good not only for them but for the rest of us. We need to see good marriages...I dare to look into the future, well into the next millennium when the term Y2K will be just another curious fact in Trivial Pursuit. In the year 2029, when they are celebrating their own 30th anniversary, and my grandchildren ask Elena and Michael how could they last so long. Michael might well say, 'Well, it's because marriages are made here on earth day after day,' and Elena might add, 'You know, it's like when you order chocolate and all they can serve is vanilla, you learn to make that work.'"