February 21, 1975

Today is a very special day for me.  On this day, February 21, 1975, the woman who would one day become my wife and the mother of our five beautiful (if sometimes challenging) children was born.  This is her 19th birthday that we have shared, and as she was 18 when we married, we have now shared more as a couple than she had apart from me.  To me that is a very special milestone.  Although she never has been very big on her own birthday, to me this date is very important.  Apart from her, my life would be less.

She is very smart, stubborn, passionate, and beautiful.  She is tough, and I admire her strength.  It’s not the fake kind that doesn’t feel, but the real kind that makes a difference in the lives of those around her.  She has the most amazing gift of love.  She is my best friend.  She is not perfect, nor am I, but I know that what we share is very special and I treasure her.  I am very much in love with her.

I look forward to the years that lay ahead, to growing old with her.  Life really is about the journey, not the destination.  The latter tend to be fleeting then on to the next.  A journey has its high points and its low points, but a journey shared is priceless.

I know that she worries about getting older.  I think most women do.  I told someone once that the great achievement in life would be to look back at 90 over all the years we have shared, the family we have together, and to know and love the woman still by my side.  Life takes a lot of turns, and there are no promises, but to me that would be a great achievement.  I will gladly kiss that woman and hold her close to me!

Thankfully I don’t have to wait to kiss her.

Today is a special day.  On this day in 1975, she was born, and I celebrate that, because she is everything to me!

Happy Birthday Courtney!  I love you!