time in a bottle

it was a cold, dark, january day seven years ago when the soon-to-be light of my life entered my world. who would have thought after all my travels and wayward searching that i would end up meeting my husband back in good 'ol st joe? i remember meeting him like it was yesterday- i was bar tending at the hi ho and he was drinking miller lite with some guys i knew. after my shift, i sat down and had a drink with them, intrigued by this new stranger. after several hours of drinking i decided it was time to go home because i had school the next day. he laughed at me, thinking i was still in college and gave me a hard time about getting up in the morning. (after all, i looked much younger than i was! :) i informed him i was in cosmetology school and that i had to be there at 8 in the morning and stay all day. he then pointed to the balding thinning spot on top of his head and said "what can you do with this?" in an instant i was charmed by his humbleness and wit.

he frequented the bar for the next few weeks, flirting with me from time to time but always failed to pull the trigger on asking me out. so i sent him a valentine when the time came around and he totally took the bait. he might tell this from a different point of view, but this is my blog and that's the bitch of him never commenting. ha ha! he finally asks me out and i obliged and the rest, as they say, is history.

six years ago on this very night i married my very best friend. i can hardly believe at times, that it has been this long and at other times, i can still see that cute boy who came into the hi ho one night. we have lived in four different houses, had 7 different cars, three children and the same dog. we have been busy and productive over the last few years.

when i met him, i had dated enough to know what i wasn't looking for, but never was able to wrap my brain about my perfect mate. then he showed up and everything else moved to the background. life with him was easy, no waves and always fun. to this day, there is no one i know as funny as him. we laugh all of the time and about everything! its my best lesson to you three, marry someone that you can always laugh with. it makes the good times great and the hard times more bearable. its one of our best qualities as a couple, i think.

your dad is an easy going guy with the biggest heart of anyone i have ever met. he wears his heart on his sleeve and is kind and gentle. i have always known that he will take care of us and protect us. he's gone above and beyond during all of my pregnancies, especially this last one. he does laundry, changes diapers, and is quick to run to starbucks when i need a coffee fix. in fact, as i am typing this, he ran to the gas station to satisfy my chip craving! he's an honorable, do-the-right-thing kinda guy and i hope you always see him with the same eyes that i do. i love and adore him and i am a better woman for having him in my life. he has given me the best three gifts ever!

dan o'connor sang "time in a bottle" at our wedding, its the same song that was played at my parents wedding. since they have been married for such a long time, i thought it was appropriate and a good omen to do the same at our ceremony. i often reflect on the lyrics close to our anniversary and they hold as true today as they did six years ago- he's the one i want to go through time with.

happy to have you, happy to love you, happy anniversary, rothy!

If I could save time in a bottle
The first thing that I'd like to do
Is to save every day
Till Eternity passes away
Just to spend them with you

If I could make days last forever
If words could make wishes come true
I'd save every day like a treasure and then,
Again, I would spend them with you

But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do
Once you find them
I've looked around enough to know
That you're the one I want to go
Through time with

If I had a box just for wishes
And dreams that had never come true
The box would be empty
Except for the memory
Of how they were answered by you

But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do
Once you find them
I've looked around enough to know
That you're the one I want to go
Through time with 


Jim Croce