S'ti Samtsirhc
I t'ndid ezilaer Gnivigsknaht dah emoc tey. Nehw I tog emoh tsal thgin I dnuof tsom fo eht Samtsirhc ffuts dah neeb thguorb nwod morf eht citta. Ynam fo meht erew denepo. Ym efiw sevol ot etaroced rof Samtsirhc. Ehs sevol ot od ti llew daeha fo emit. Ot eb riaf, ehs lliw eb oot ysub rof eht txen wef skeew ot teg siht enod yawyna. Osla I ma yllaer gniyojne ti siht raey.
Tsal thgin ew tneps emit gnidaol eht stnemanro no ruo OWT Samtsirhc seert. I yas gnidaol esuaceb ereht era tsuj os ynam fo meht. Enoyreve si deticxe tuoba gnittup meht no eht eert.. ta tsrif. Msaisuhtne seid nwod a tib 03 setunim retal. Taht si htiw lla evif fo su gniod ti. Ew llits evah wef suoicerp stnemanro taht t'nevah neeb thguorb tuo tey. Eht Legna eert reppot lliw eb tsal.
Woh ylrae od uoy tup ruoy eert pu?
What Happens in Vegas
We have returned. I now fully understand discount airline. We paid $40 for two BLTs and two Dr. Peppers. We had a great time together. I would say more but I may be violating a Nevada law ('Stays in Vegas')
Nov 10, 2005 – Our 15th Anniversary – My First Secret Trip
We have only really taken three trips by ourselves (Arkansas, Six Flags, Granbury). More importantly I have never been able to keep a secret from Jennifer. I usually get too excited and spill the beans. Otherwise she gets hint that something is going on and hounds me until I tell her. She told me six months ago, when we were talking about such things, that I could never pull it off. I didn't take it as a challenge, it just truth.
Last month I started it. I made reservations for us to go to Las Vegas for our 15th Anniversary, which is tomorrow. I won't give all the details as I don't want to give it all up yet. I made arrangements with our friends to cover her duties at Church or to cover my class. I got someone to watch the kids while we are gone. I had the tickets sent to a friend’s house. I spoke with her boss about having the time off. It is very difficult to cover all of my wife's bases!
As a rouse, I created an entire itinerary of things we would do on Thursday here in DFW. I had to. I had to find a way to get her to work her normally off-day, Tuesday. I also created the itinerary in case she caught wind of something and I had to reveal how she thwarted my plan. I even doctored web pages and emailed myself this fake schedule. I did all of this to cover my tracks. She has been great about it. I revealed the rouse on Sunday morning and asked her to please not ask any more about it. She hasn’t. She was a little put back by so many people knowing. In return she asked that I stay out of our bank account this week so she could buy me something. Knowing my wife, I assumed it was a big ticket purchase. I found a way to convince her that it wasn’t a good idea since we’d be making a ‘big purchase’ on Thursday. I hope she will forgive this lie. I’m not sure how much the trip will ultimately cost us but truly it is for both of us.
This morning I told Jennifer to pack her bags. We are going on a trip. She'll have a blast once she realizes that it’s all covered.
Happy Anniversary to the love of my life!
I Love my Wife!
September 13, 2002 - Our second house
This one was more fun than the first to buy. The problem was selling our old house. We had begun construction when we placed our house on the market. It seemed like forever until we had the first of what ended up being three different buyers. The fist buyer didn't last a week. The second buyer looked good. We packed all of our stuff and put it in storage and found a place to house sit for the summer. The day before closing we called to find out where closing would be and found out the lender wouldn't loan to a ‘dead-beat dad’. Now we panicked. We thought for sure we'd have to give up the new house and move back to the first. Finally the house sold. We were very happy to be homeless. Several weeks later our house was ready and we moved in.
That summer Jennifer did everything with the kids. When took them to swim lessons, I would meet them at the pool for a long lunch. We had a great summer in a very small house. Jennifer made what could have been a bleak summer for all of us one of our best ever. She and I had a great time this summer. We were living the dream of family time.
When August rolled around, Jennifer drove the kids 20 miles away to their new school, every day. She never missed a beat.
We love our new house and have plans of improving it as we go. The first year I used an old riding mower that broke down as often as it ran. She was the one who convinced me that I should buy a new one. “I could be spending part of that time with the kids” she said. We also went through a period when we were going through the motions but not relating to each other much. She is my compass. She insisted that we take time to ourselves and made all of the arrangements for a weekend away at a B&B. It was a much needed rejuvenation.
I love my wife as much today as I ever did. She is still that girl full of energy and life whom I stole away from her father at too young of an age. If you've seen our wedding picture you'd agree. I can't believe after all of these years she still loves me, but she makes it apparent every day. We are really a team now. We'd rather spend time together than be anywhere else.
I love my wife!
March 20, 1998 - Our first house
We had finally gone through the most ridiculous process I had ever seen. We bought a home. It wasn't far from where our rental was so our kids had the same elementary school. I think the best part was the pool. Of course it was a luxury for first time owners, but we loved it.
We had problems here too. This time it was ours, so they were our problems. One winter our Heating unit gave up for good. We didn't have enough saved to pay someone to replace it. So, I replaced it... mostly. I called someone to come finish it. My wife supported me through the process, even though I had no experience (and it remained very cold in the house).
Jennifer had gotten sick again and another surgery. She was told that if we wanted any more kids we'd better get it done. It took a while, but we did ( :-) ). We had our daughter. We were very happy. Our family was now complete.
She came up with the idea to start a pre-school at our Church. She built up a plan and submitted it to our elders who approved it and she started the school a few (hectic) months later. In all of this time she had remained the anchor of our family. Our love for one another had never diminished into that routine-ness we always hear about.
It was in this house that we finally learned that LM had won the contract. This meant that LM could be the company I work for until I retire. A year later we searched for what could be our dream house. She knew I wanted a little more land and a place where our boys could have their own rooms. She was excited thinking about a place were our kids could grow up and even come back to visit once they moved out.
I love my wife!
May 25th, 1997 - I Graduate and move us to Texas
The last couple of semesters were packed. We decided that financially we couldn't afford another summer of my being in school. I carried 18 and 15 hours of senior level work my last year of school. I am sure it was as hard on Jennifer as it was on me. I ended up spending the night with friends in Stillwater a lot. There was too much lab work to come home some nights. She rarely complained. Finally in May I graduated. We were on top of the world.
In the months leading up to graduation I interviewed with companies as often as possible. I had a job nailed down at Halliburton in Duncan, OK. We had gone down and found a house to rent and placed our deposit. The starting salary was good, better than I expected as a new graduate. The job started the week after graduation. We only needed me to pass.
During dead week I got a call from Lockheed. They had been trying to get a hold of me. They wanted to fly me down to interview. So Wednesday of dead week I did it. By Friday they offered me the job. It was more in line with what I wanted and had a better starting salary. It was far away in Texas, but we decided it was a better option. We went for it. Now the problem was the job started in just a couple of weeks and we didn't have any place to stay. She had to pack for the movers to get our stuff the week of graduation. So the Wednesday of finals weeks I came to Fort Worth and found a rent house. I only hoped she'd like it. A couple of days later, graduation happened and we headed to Fort Worth. We got here late at night and when we got in the house that night we found out it had a horrible roach problem. To make matters worse we'd be sleeping on the floor. We all slept in the same room that night with a towel shoved under the bedroom door.
The next few months she came to realize all of her friends were in OK. The people here hadn't quite taken with us yet. She got very active in the Church. Friends came later. Our boys were growing. Eric started kindergarten from that house. Jennifer got ill and had to have surgery. It was a frightening time. We still didn't have much money. School bills were actually needing to be paid back now and we had to buy a new (to us) car. She eventually took a job at Walmart for a while. She hated it. We never saw each other. She knew it would help us and was always willing when that's the case. She made sure we had great Christmas that year.
At work there was worry. LM had a very big contract that everyone was waiting on. If it fell through nearly everyone would be let go. I thought we should stay in the rental until we knew for sure. She knew we couldn't live life in fear. DFW was a big place and I could definitely get a new job. She is always building me up. So we started looking at putting down some roots.
I Love my wife!
February 1994 - A Selfless Woman
I had started school and continued working for folks again. We attended Church whenever it was open. Our class at Church was very active. The guy who taught our class was also our elder. His wife called us the biscuit class. The groups of 80 of us held class in the hallway in folding chairs which had to folded and put away before the other classes got out and headed for services. This time our elder had everyone to his house for Valentines party. The whole group was always a blast. At one point in the evening we went around the room and he asked that each person give a one word description of there spouse. I was at least half way around the room, so my answer wouldn't be easy. Many gave a smart-aleck answer or something typical (caring, loving...) When it came to me I said that Jen was 'selfless'. I didn't intend to say it. It just came to mind. She immediately burst into tears. I assume she was touched and maybe slightly embarrassed. I don't recall anything else that night not even what she said about me. But my answer got me thinking. I was right. She was selfless. She always did anything anyone asked of her. She always followed me faithfully. I am sure there were times she shouldn't have. She would rather do without than not contribute to an angel tree at Christmas.
When we met my life plan was to use my skills from the Air Force and get a job to earn enough money to be able to enjoy my family. I would get job with aircraft and if that didn't work out I would heed the advice of my sister and go to college and get my electrical engineering degree. This would ensure I could make enough money to enjoy my family. My first job at an aircraft company came when the airlines were doing terrible in the early nineties. A day before my six month temporary employee status was to be over, I got laid off. I took it hard. Honestly I was young. The truth was I was crushed. Jen stiffened up and said it was no problem. She put me at ease. I am sure she was as concerned as I was about where our next meal would come from. We spent the weekend with her folks. Eventually after searching I went back to work for my folks. After some time she helped me remember my dream was to go to school. We decided then that I would go to school full time.
She held down the home front while I went to school. I held a full time job and went to school full time. She worked part time for my folks and handled everything. She did our budget until we moved to Texas. Those were the lean years. I have no idea how she did it. We never made enough money for anything. If it weren't for her, school loans and tax refund checks, we'd have lost it all.
More importantly she always has been my compass. She made sure that we had family time, that we visited relatives (even those in Illinois). When she knew I was over whelmed she'd make me a bath and put on some George Strait and made sure I wasn't disturbed.
I Love my wife!
November 10, 1990 - Marriage
It was a perfect day. We had a small wedding at Jennifer's folk’s house in Edmond. We filled the front room with a few friends and our families. The guy that introduced us was my best man. Jennifer was radiant. A more beautiful bride there never was. A family friend performed the ceremony. We had orange (not peach) cake. We enjoyed being with family. We left in her VW Beatle. Our friends had written we need money on the window. Just a few miles away at a stop light a nice couple asked us if we really needed money. Looking back we should have said yes. Our honey moon consisted of a room at the Embassy Suites across town. That night we went to Olive Garden for a 'fancy' dinner (We were young). Some time during the night we watched Crocodile Dundee. It was a short honeymoon. We were poor and had to be at work Monday.
Jennifer and I agreed on a date to tell her folks about us getting married. We went to Edmond that weekend for what was mostly a normal weekend at her folks. Finally Jen and her mom went shopping and for pie at Tippins for her to tell her mom. I was going to ask her Dad while she was gone. I was terribly nervous. He and I spent time cleaning the garage. Then Jen and her mom returned. They were done and I hadn't even edged into it one bit. She and her mom went inside without saying anything. They knew I hadn't asked her dad yet. So I gutted up. He was very thrilled. No problem what so ever. All that time doing projects around his house had paid off. He and I in our typical fashion began plotting against the girls. So he stormed into the house yelling screaming about me how he knocked me out. Her grandma, who was living with them at the time, was quite upset by his actions. Jen ran out to the garage to check on me. When she opened the door I was there smiling.
Leading up to the marriage was interesting. As I said before her parents had recently move to Edmond. They purchased an older home that needed some work. When they found out we wanted to be married there. They freaked a little. The house work immediately began. A new floor in the kitchen and sod the front yard is what I remember most but there was a lot of other work that went into it. Thousands!
I didn't have a bachelor's party. My best friend came to town the morning of the wedding. We spent some time together talking away from her folk’s house. We thought we'd plot that I'd changed my mind and headed back to Tulsa. This was a horrible mistake, which I regret to this day. Jennifer, I am still sorry we put you through that.
I love my wife!
August 1990 - You should move to Tulsa
We went on our first trip together to visit a friend of hers in Arkansas. Her friends were a lot of fun, but didn't believe in air conditioning. We couldn't sleep. We talked a lot on our trip. We decided we didn't like seeing each other only on the weekends. As we were about 20 minutes outside of Tulsa, I said "you should move to Tulsa". It seems like she didn't blink. She agreed.
Earlier in the summer (June) her folks had moved to Edmond as did she. She went to work at a grocery store. In short order she was acting as the manager. When I convinced her to leave for Tulsa, they were about to make it official. They didn't want to see her go. Hind sight tells me I should have moved to OKC.
She moved to Tulsa and got a job at the mall. It was good because she wasn’t good with directions and the mall was at the end of the freeway. I continued to get dressed up and smelling good to go eat lunch with her or pick her up. I don’t recall that we did much more than when she lived in Ponca, but we were together. We’d grill up some country ribs on the hibachi and watch ‘In Living Color’.
I have tried to remember what exactly we did for fun, but all I can recall is being happy, being with her. It was clear quickly she shouldn't just live in my town, we should be married.
I love my Wife!
April, 1990 - The first "I love you"
The first "I Love You" took about a month. We had both been burned in the past and didn't want to commit ourselves too quickly. I did dorky stuff when we talked on the phone like say, "You know I really, really, really like you... a lot". At the time a new record out by Jane Child was called 'I don't want to fall in love'. I played it to her all the time. It was really our anti-song. It got much worse before I broke out the 'L' word.
I drove to see her every weekend. I got a job where I worked 4-10 hour days giving me three day weekends every week. I spent them all with her. If I came to town when she was working I would get her flowers and ask the first person I found at her job to take them to her. I would hide and wait to see her reaction. She always cried and then began looking for me frantically. I am surprised I didn't get her fired from that job.
Our first fight came and went some time later. I have no idea what it was about. You can bet it concerned our not getting to see each other enough. The night it happened, I immediately got into my car and headed to Ponca. I showed up on her door step playing
Chicago's "Love me tomorrow". No I hadn't seen 'Say Anything', but it is now one of my favorites for this reason.
Our weekend usually involved at least one trip to Mazzios. We usually did free stuff as much as possible. We spent time at the park, the lake, the dam but mostly just hung out at her apartment. Sunday's, starting from the first date, we went to Church. She insisted that her parents would never approve of someone who didn't. We always went to her folks for Sunday lunch. I spent time in the afternoon endearing myself to her family by doing odd jobs around their house. Unfortunately, this went on for years. My leaving on Sunday nights was nearly always with her crying.
The truth is I loved her from the moment we met. I could have married her by month one. I am a lucky man!
I love my Wife!
March 20, 1990 -We Met
I was living with my folks in Tulsa after I got out of the Air Force. I was trying to find my civilian life. I worked at my folks print shop. My best friend Grant had over the last couple of years had talked about this girl Jennifer he went to school with. One night he said she and her apartment-mate would be having a party and we should go. Of course I didn't have anything better to do on a Tuesday night (yes Tuesday). To my parents dismay, I took off part of the day on Tuesday so we could drive to her town a couple of hours away. When we hit town, Ponca City, we stopped at the Pizza Inn. After that we went on to 'her' parents house.
We got to 'her' house about the same time she did. She had been running and not planning on us being there. The first time I saw her she was wearing a multi colored striped shorts out fit. Her hair was up in a pony tail. She was gorgeous. She was full of energy. The three of us had some small talk. I teased her about the small size of her towns newspaper was. (Those who know me know meeting people isn't my strong suit.) After some time we agreed to meet for pizza at Mazzios. On the way out of the driveway, I was overwhelmed by my feelings for her. Meanwhile my friend and I would head to the store for refreshements for the party. In an awkward moment I first met her mom, after purchasing said refreshments, in the parking lot of the store. She didn't know about the party and we were't talking.
At Mazzios she did the girl thing eating very little. I convinced her to eat at least one piece. I have no idea what was said, but it remains a fond memory.
She and I spoke some at the party. I tried to keep some distance as my friend was obviously thinking she was his. He soon saw the chemistry between us and gave me the green light. We had our first kiss that night.
I spent the rest of the night and on till 5 am when we had to leave to get my friend to work by 8 am in Tulsa. She cried when I left. I slept most of the day away. My folks weren't thrilled about another day of work missed. I called her that night. She was somehow surprised. I returned that weekend for our first official date.
