Twelve Years Ago

What a happy and holy fashion it is that those who love one another should rest on the same pillow. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne

I’m sitting here drinking my daily morning cup of coffee and Dude is sitting on the couch reading the Sunday paper.  Cam is laying on the floor playing her Ninetendo DS and Teenie is watching Spongebob Squarepants.  Both kids are begging for Dude to make homemade Belgium Waffles and for me to make Cheesy Eggs simultaneously.  Ah, a typical Sunday morning at our house.

In a few hours all four of us will be out of our pajamas and dressed up.  The girls and I will wear very pretty dresses and Dude will wear a suit.  It will probably be the first and only time we will look this special.  Thank God there will be pictures.

As Dude and I are going over last minute details of everything happening today we make Cam practice the Lord’s Prayer just one more time and pray that she remembers how to bless herself at her baptism.  It then occurs to me that this weekend is our anniversary…

Twelve years ago this weekend Dude and I had our first date.  He invited me to his house, the house we live in today with our two children.  I remember going through his CD collection to find out what kind of taste in music had and how he scored MAJOR points for having all of the Rolling Stones albums in his collection.  We had very similar musical taste which was really important to me because there’s nothing worse than being in a relationship with someone who listens to music that you detest.

Dude also scored high points on our first date because he made me dinner and served it on his (well, now it’s ours) backyard deck.  He grilled hamburgers and served them with a mini-fixings bar, potato salad and baked beans.  It wasn’t a gourmet meal but it was the way he made it and the way he served it.

I remember how relaxing it was hanging out with Dude and how much fun he was.  I also remember how big this house seemed 12 years ago when it was only him living here.  Now that there are four of us that fill these walls it seems so tiny but it’s gone from just a house to a home.

Twelve years ago on our first date Dude told me he saw himself as a father.  He told me he couldn’t wait until the day he has his own children so that he could do all the fun things fathers do with their kids.  There’s no doubt that he’s done his share of that with Cam and Teenie.

When I look at Dude today and think about that weekend 12 years ago my heart and stomach still get that fluttery feeling that I had when I pulled up in front of his house that day.  That excited, “Oh my God, I’m going to have my first date with DUDE!” feeling.  I love him more today than I ever could which tells me that having my marriage blessed is the right thing to do.

Having our children baptized today and including them with our marriage blessing just brings us closer together spiritually.

Imagine if I never had those flying toasters…

Tagged as: Cam, Dude, Kidz, Teenie