1970 + 40

Today, the man that I married turns 40 years old.  The big 4- Oh.  Officially middle aged- in my opinion.

Dan was 24 years old when we met.  I was 20.  We were both so very young I now realize looking back.

It was so much fun.  We dated, he took me out to dinner and movies, I would hop on the back of his motorcycle and soak up the sun as we wasted afternoons with no plans at all.  I remember the first time I invited him over to my apartment for dinner- I made macaroni and cheese and smoked sausage.  I was a mess, cooking that gourmet meal for the man I was swooning after.  It was like the only thing I knew how to cook- and I was a disaster trying to operate two burners on the stove at the same time.  He could have run screaming- but he didn't.  I felt like a chef- he probably was doing good just to choke down the dinner.

After dating for just a few months, I began to imagine my name as his.  I even specifically remember one day as we drove home from his parents house looking into the back seat and wondering what it would look like with baby seats in it.  (And now I look in the back seat and wonder why on earth our children are such pigs and for.crying.out.loud. would you please stop hitting each other and screaming.)

He was the man I was destined to marry.  And then he asked me to be his wife.  A year later, two moves, a brand new baby puppy, a new home and lots of fabulous wedding plans and there we were- ready to 'begin' our life together.

When you are that young, you have no idea what that could possibly entail.  And there are times in married life when it feels harder to hold on than to let go- but I am so very fortunant that I have been blessed with a man who clings tighter when the winds really begin to blow.  And together we have remained in tact, and in fact stronger than we could have ever imagined.  And in the scheme of things- our winds haven't really blown that hard.

Someday, I imagine I will look back to when we were 'just' 40 and think how young we were and how drastically life was going to continue to mold us- but today it just feels like we've made it.  We are officially not newlyweds, new parents, or young anymore (Dan, not me- after all, HE is the one turning 40, I'm still just a baby).

I am still in love with this man.  And I still feel blessed that he chose me to to share his entire life with. 

And he should be grateful he picked me, because I am single handedly going to change our entire world.  He doesn't know this yet- but I am about to become Jillian Michaels (only fatter and unable to stand on the arms of the treadmill while screaming "don't you quit, don't you quit").  We are going to eat better, and by better I don't mean just trying to put more lettuce onto the 1/3 pound cheeseburger, but really nourish our bodies and slim them down.  We are going to be active and healthy.  That's that.  Now I've blogged about it- it is official.

Check back, because there might even be revealing photos of me in a sports bra like on Biggest Looser.

But probably not.

Because I love this man, we are going to do this together.  I can't imagine a single day without him- he is the one I want to run to when life feels unbearable, the one I need to listen when I just want to get it out of my system, and the one who makes me feel like I am complete.  He is the one who is willing to put up with me and my crazy ways- I need him.  And now that we (he) have become old (him- not me), it's time to make some changes.

So Happy Birthday Dan- here's hoping you don't kill me when I serve you raw spinich and seared tuna (AKA- tuna fish from a can because God himself knows I'm NOT touching raw fish) for the next 6 months.

But not today- today on your birthday I actually bought you a steak to cook for dinner.  Not the 1.99 a pound ones either- a real live steak that cost more than I would ever consider spending on a slab of raw meat.  And by 'to cook you for dinner' I mean you get to fire up the grill and cook it yourself- otherwise I'll burn it to a crisp and make you eat it anyway.  Because that's what I do with raw meat.

And there is another reason that I have to have this man around for the entire rest of my life.  He is the only one who knows how to use the grill.

(I love you Dan-Happy Birthday!  I find it interesting that in the photo I cropped down for this post that there is a cross right next to your head- know that my prayers are ALWAYS with you-and I am so very proud to call myself your wife.)