Wedded Bliss

Happy Anniversary to us! To celebrate our happy day, I want to share a few of my favorite memories of our life together thus far.

Shortly after we married, David left Target to work at an area bank. He had two days between jobs in which he planned to sleep in, go golfing, and watch TV. I grudgingly got up and went to work, fully expecting to hear about his fabulous day off upon my return. But when I pulled back into our garage, there were shelves. Beautiful new shelves that hadn’t been there that morning. From the moment we started combining two independent lives, I had wanted shelves. There just wasn’t enough room in our town home for all of our stuff. David spent his day off buying and putting up those shelves for me. I have often thought that such a pure act of unselfishness for one’s spouse sends one of the purest messages of your love. And David has always been like that, putting me and my needs first.

The day each of our children were born. Before I had a baby, I worried how David and I would do in that situation. After all, I’m not the greatest person when I’m sick, hungry, or in pain so I was understandably worried. Since Jacob’s birth, I have realized that David and I are our very best when in a situation just like that. True stress or pain or sorrow brings us together like nothing else and we become an even better team than we are under normal circumstances. I relied heavily on David through each of my labors and he was always calm and soothing. It was such a blessing to have him with me. And I love the pictures I hold in my heart of him holding each of our children after they were born. His face lit up as he cradled each little bundle from the Lord.

David has called me several times from work over the years with a great idea for our family. He had the crazy idea of taking a three-week road trip through the Northwest . . . and then the Southwest . . . with a shorter trip through the Midwest, and a long weekend to Chicago for Spring Break. David plans amazing vacations for us. We’ve been to the ocean (one of my personal favorites), hiked many and various national parks, gone on a hot-air balloon ride, visited murals painted on city walls, paused by a memory tree, explored museums, spent time with family, and made precious memories that I LOVE. Charlotte likes to ask me what my favorite day of the year is and I always reply, “Any day you and your siblings are home from school and Daddy is home from work so we can spend the day as a family.” Last summer David introduced us to geocaching; another great family activity. This year he did the Polar Plunge which I know we’ll all remember.

My favorite date David has ever taken me on remains the night we went to the temporary mini-golf course set up at the Sculpture Gardens downtown. We had a picnic supper on the lawn, golfed, and then went to this little greasy spoon called the Convention Grill for the best milkshakes I have ever had. And that greasy spoon as become one of our family favorites. I’m not sure what they do, but their hamburgers and fries are divine - and I’ve already mentioned the ice cream. But then, David has taken me on tons of fun dates so it’s really hard to point out just one. I have always appreciated David’s appreciation for Shakespeare and we have attended many wonderful plays put on at the Guthrie from Henry IV to A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

David still brings me roses on a regular basis. Yes, I know, flowers don’t last, but I love them so he brings them home for me often. I especially liked the ones he’d get me from the farmer’s market downtown when we both worked on Target’s Finance floor so long ago. Those flowers were so very fragrant and the more fragrant, the better, in my opinion. I also love the variety of colors David picks out for me from a pale peach to brilliant pinks and reds. I love the flowers and what they mean.

I will never forget watching David paint Charlotte’s fingernails before his mother’s funeral. His mother always painted Charlotte’s nails with this beautiful pink polish, so when we lost her unexpectedly, David did it instead. It was one of those simple gestures that said so much about his love for his mother and for his daughter. We all knew that no one could really fill Grandma’s shoes, but we’d do our best to live the way she would if she’d been here longer. David has always put his kids first. After he jumped into the frozen waters of Lake Minnetonka, the first thing he did was look for Jacob. I can only imagine that his survival instinct had kicked in at that point, but his parenting instincts were stronger and he made sure Jacob had a pole before he grabbed his own. This week I couldn’t help but smile as David patiently waited for Laurel and Mary to gather their purses and money so they could shop for a $5 webkinz at Target. He drove them over and waited while they animatedly discussed each animal and selected their purchase and then helped them count out their money. He rolled his eyes at me when he got back, but I reminded him that this is only the beginning of his shopping adventures with three girls in our family :). And I know he’ll be there for each of our kids as they grow older because that’s just the way he is - he cares about the memories they have and the experiences we have as a family. I would have skipped the luncheon at the American Girl doll store in Chicago, but David reminded me, “It’s the experience, Ella.” And I have to admit that is another one of my favorite memories. I love how David was the only Dad for several years to bring his kid (Jacob) to the ward’s Turkey Bowl. After a while, other guys started bringing their sons, but wouldn’t play with them so it was David and a bunch of kids. Finally, this year, some of the other Dad’s actually played with their sons. Of course, David brought Charlotte this year . . . I wonder if some of the other girls will show up next year too :).

There are so many things I could share about these amazing years together, but I don’t have time and the web wouldn’t have enough room. The important thing is that I remain so grateful to have David in my life. I am so glad I married him and feel so lucky and fortunate to be in such a good marriage.