And They Said it Wouldn't Last...

    It has been twenty-seven years since my father walked me down the aisle to stand beside the man I was to marry. It's been twenty-seven years since we loaded two separate lives into one small yellow car and left for Texas. I look at my wedding photos and think, "Dang I was skinny."

Wait, of course I mean, "Oh, how young and in love we look." Because we do.

     It's been twenty-eight plus years since he walked into my Basic and Fortran computer class at Middle Tennessee State University, sat on the front row, turned to scope out the room, and promptly relocated to sit next to me and another boy on the back row. He leaned over and informed me he was quite fond of  my legs and hoped I planned to wear skirts often. Strangely, he is surprised to this day that line did not work and I did not fall swooning into his arms. I thought he was a jerk.

     We didn't exchange another word until the end of the semester when I was attempting to debug a program by using a shoe on the side of the computer (technology is great...when it works). I guess I was making a bit of noise and he leaned over from the adjacent carrel and offered to help. I said, "Thanks, Dan" (I thought his name was Dan for the first 8 months I knew him), and realized there was more to this jerk than arrogance if he would offer assistance to a damsel in distress.

     We met again the next semester in Horror and Gothic Literature (yes, I had a very stressful, depth-filled college schedule), and went on our first date right around spring break. It was to Stone's River Battlefield. We were searching for the cold spot where civil war ghosts were supposed to walk. How could I not fall head over heels in love?

     A year later came the romantic proposal, "How long will it take you to get ready for a wedding and move to Dallas?" He gave me a month. I chose March 17th, St. Patrick's Day, thinking that for the rest of his life he could go into any Irish Pub in the world and get a countdown to his wedding anniversary. He has never forgotten when it is.

     Here we are, twenty-seven years later. We've been richer and poorer, we've been better and worse, we've been sicker and healthier. I have loved him, I have honored him, but rarely obeyed him. I had that one removed from the vows. I knew he wouldn't notice until it was too late. We've raised kids, dogs, cats, rabbits, and the occasional rodent. We've been back to other colleges to further our educations. (It was too hard to find a job in Horror Lit.) We're to the age where we have stopped shredding the AARP letters and started reading them. We looked so young and in love back then. In our eyes we still do.

     Happy Anniversary Doug. You are still the love of my life.

P.S. I guess that darn line about my legs actually did work after all.