Dedicated to the one I love

                                                                    

12/06/10... Please indulge me while I rave about my wonderful husband Mike. Today is our wedding anniversary, so what better day to express my gratitude for him? We met so many years ago, back in 70s, that it is hard to put an exact date or year on it. He was in grad school, and I met him at a going away party for one of his friends. We didn't get together then, but our paths crossed many times over the years. He played in an electro-celtic band, and one of his bandmates ended up marrying a good friend of mine. My friend kept telling me she thought Mike and I were perfect for each other. Eventually the stars aligned and we began dating. That was 23 years ago. We dated for a few years, broke up and got back together along the way. Eventually, we moved in together, and after seven more years, got married after a short engagement. Our relationship has survived a few false starts, another break-up, and a cancer diagnosis. My friend turned out to be right, though. He is the perfect person for me. I have never known anyone whose temperament so exactly complements mine. We rarely argue, in fact, we never do. We hardly ever disagree on anything. We are so compatible it is ridiculous. Where I am excitable, emotional and reactive, he is calm and patient. He is steadfast, true, forgiving, funny as hell, and even smarter. He is generous, supportive, kind, modest, adorable and a history buff who never runs out of fascinating stories to tell. He is also a very talented musician who plays so many instruments that I can't even think of all of them. One of the results of the bone marrow transplant and radiation treatments he received in 2009 is that he lost complete movement in some fingers of his left hand, the one he needs for fretting the guitar and mandolin. He has never complained about losing his ability to play those instruments, and has talked about teaching himself to play left handed. I know he can do anything he sets his mind to. He has a big heart, a social conscience, an open mind, a ton of integrity, and I thank my lucky stars that he loves me. The world is a better place with him in it, and I cannot imagine my world without him.