Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Dear Sugar: Happy Anniversary to Me and the Hubs!

Dear Sugar:

Today, my husband and I are celebrating 15 years of marriage. Here are some fun fact about us:

-We met at a church coffee house and concert event.  I saw a guy I thought was cute and was flirting with him, when a man approached me and said he knew my mom.  Turns out the man and my mom are cousins, and the guy I was flirting with?  MY COUSIN.  I turned away from him, met Steve, and flirted with him instead.   (We included this hysterical story in our wedding program!)

-When we met, I had a boyfriend, whom I promptly dumped.  

-When we started dating, I was 16; he was 19.  I was in high school, he was in college.  We had attended the same high school when I was a freshman and he was a senior, but we didn't know each other then.  

-Our first date was at Denny's.  He bought my hot chocolate.  He was the first guy I dated who paid for my food. 

-After another fun time at Denny's with church friends, Steve drove me home.  My parents grounded me for a week for riding home with a stranger-college-boy that they didn't know.  

-He attended (as a college guy!) both my junior and senior proms and two homecoming dances as my date.    

-He introduced me to country music, which I hated before, and within a few months of dating, I knew every lyric to every song.   He also introduced me to camping, boating, golfing, and hiking:  which is funny because we don't do any of those things now! 

-He proposed at sunset on Sanibel Island where we were vacationing with his parents.

-We dated five years before getting married.  

-I got married at age 21.  I walked down the aisle to the theme song ("Once Upon a Dream") from Disney's Sleeping Beauty, which was my favorite childhood movie.  

-Our reception was the very, very best.  Held in a place called "The Warehouse" with brick walls, strings of lights, and lots, and lots, and lots of dancing.   I had the most gorgeous (two piece!) dress!

-We honeymooned on The Outer Banks of North Carolina, which is where a ton of Nicholas Sparks' book plots take place.  

-In fifteen years, we lived in one townhouse and two houses.  Six graduations.   Five jobs for him.  Seven jobs for me.    

-My husband saved my life.  After being sick for 1.5 years with no proper diagnosis (despite visiting five medical professionals), one afternoon I took a long, long nap.  When Steve couldn't get in touch with me on my cell, he frantically drove home, put my shoes on me, and put me in the car.  He took me to the ER where I was told I was very lucky to be alive.  I was in a state called DKA (Diabetic Ketoacidosis) with a blood sugar of 700, which is 7x the norm.  

-I knew I wanted to adopt immediately after being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.  It took Steve a year to come around to my plan.  
Us when we got THE call for our first child!  
-Steve's parents have been married 49 years.  Mine almost 38 years. Longevity!   

-Our biggest differences?  He's analytical, and I'm the visionary.   I make quick decisions, he takes a long time to make his decisions.   He is more flexible and forgiving, while I'm more passionate and erratic.   

-Sometimes we look at each other and say, "WE HAVE FOUR KIDS!"  God has blessed us with the family we never envisioned for ourselves.   God has the BEST surprises!   

Do we have a secret?  No.  We are flawed people.   But we have parents who modeled for us that "family is forever" and commitment is everything.  We're "in it to win it."   And one day, when the kids have jobs and families of their own, all my hubby wants to do is travel the country in his incredible RV.  God-willing, that's exactly where we will be.   

Cheers to us!  

How long have you been married?  What's your secret?  

No comments:

Post a Comment

Comments are moderated and published upon approval. Your thoughts and questions are also welcome via e-mail at whitebrownsugar AT hotmail DOT com.