My Hero

Dean and Parker, hiking in Oregon. 

Two posts today because today is my 24th wedding anniversary! I have some thoughts on the last 24 years with Dean and how I am surprised, blessed and amazed at how well they have turned out. Surprised, because my parents were divorced and it is hard for me to believe I have made something work that my mother could not. Blessed, because in all good things there is something of a miracle. Every good gift is from above, my marriage is no exception. And amazed, because I know me so well that I find it hard to believe anyone could live with me for 24 years and even say they enjoy it!

Here's why we're still together. 

1) We're too gross to be with anyone else! We both have allergies. Our cars, our couch, our pockets, my purse are all filled with new and used Kleenex tissues. We sneeze and drip and cough and wheeze, we blow and sniff and look fondly at each other with bloodshot and itchy, watery, eyes. Who could stand the constant dampness but another drippy, oozy, sneezy  person?

2) Neither of us has left our home in the last 24 years without some kind of animal fur adhered to our clothing. The love of animals, especially beloved pets is a powerful shared interest. The care of cantankerous, demanding, sick, aging and sometimes hostile animals is like living through a pet war zone. We have survived the pet trenches together.

3) Take the above paragraph and substitute the words "kids" or "children" for the words animal and pets and you have reason number 3.

4) We run together. This could be anything. We ________ together. We see movies together, we read books together, we hike together, we see plays together. We laugh together. We are best friends and we do things together. Running is a great thing to do because we do it several times a week year round.

5) We share the same faith in God. We have attended churches of different denominations (flavors) over the years but the constant has been our faith in God, our desire to grow closer to Him, and to try to live in a way that would bring glory to Him.

Dean is my hero. He has always ridden in on his generous spirit, loving support and sense of humor to save me from flat tires, dead end jobs and foul moods. I would like to think that we both put each other first all the time but I know that I have failed on that score time and time again. Yet, still he believes in me. I am blessed.

Dean, Parker, Bailey and I at Bailey's High School graduation dinner.