Love Is in the Air...and on the Bracelet

Hi, Ya'll!

Since last blog, Keith & I have celebrated our SIXTH wedding anniversary. YEA!!! WOOOHOOOO!!! Yes, thank you, thank you. We had a beautiful day. For once, I just felt...serene. I wanted a "laidback" day. You know how often when you think anniversary, you think "dress up"? Well, I don't mean the bedroom kind...I mean the "going out to somewhere fancy" kind, not meaning by any means to be putting down the bedroom kind. Heaven forbid! But for once, I wanted a calm, take-it-as-you-may day. And we did. Nothing unusual or much different. Had breakfast together. Watched some movies. We DID exchange gifts. A friend of mine, Emily, is an artist. (Her link is up in the right column.) Keith knew how much I liked her work & he got one of her paintings for me at Christmas. Little did I know, but he had another one waiting for me for our anniversary.

Geez, he's just so sweet to listen for what touches my heart (yeah, honey...I said "listen"!). He's always been that way. Once, when we were dating, I told him how my dad used to call me "strawberry girl" because I loved strawberries, especially strawberries over angel food cake with (HOMEMADE) whipped cream on top. And I had a book called "Strawberry Girl" that I'd read when I was little. It's a Florida story about a farmgirl. I reminisced about it with Keith. He never forgot it. When Christmas came, he sat me down one night & presented me with a present. It was a wrapped copy of that book he'd been able to track down on Amazon! Then he topped it off with strawberries, angel food cake, and whipped cream! TA-DA! Is he something...or what!!!???

He has done things like this for me on a number of occasions. Emily's paintings were no exception. The man definitely cares! Not that he doesn't catch hell now & then...often more now than then. But once again, he made a special occasion even more special.

I gave Keith a CD with Spanish guitar music on it. Also a book with photos of the universe. You may have caught on to a theme here. We give gifts of books & we write messages to match the gift and/or occasion. My message was about my "spaceman". You get the idea.

One final gift for him was a stainless steel I.D. bracelet. I emphasize the "stainless steel". This for a man who has his armsinto soil up to his elbows at times...and even worse substances, like the stuff that lurks at the bottom of a cageless pool when it's waaaay overdue for a cleaning. I figured this bracelet might survive for use on a DAILY basis, not like the "14kt gold" railroad link bracelet I gave him a few years back.

We'd decided to take a vacation out West. Literally the West coast. We arrived in Seattle & drove from there to San Diego, stopping along the way to visit my brother & his family in The Dulles, and winding our way down the coastal highway. We paused here & there to camp. Evidently at one of our wonderful campsites, Keith managed to "lose" the "14kt" bracelet. Or perhaps it was the street magician in San Diego, though the bracelet didn't seem to be missing (if I recall correctly) when we checked out the video footage we'd made. So someone...or someTHING in CA is enjoying a beautiful gold bracelet. It made him sick. I didn't feel so great, either, admittedly. I did replace it later. (You see, he likes steam engines, hence the chosen railroad link design.) But now you can see why the man needed "practically indestructable" stainless steel.

There was an even more practical reason for the I.D. bracelet. See, Keith has only "promised" me THIRTEEN years together. He says that's how long his other marriages lasted, one due to divorce & one due to passing, so that's all he can allow for! Double HA! So on the back of his I.D. bracelet, I had inscribed "HALFWAY THERE". We are actually at 6 1/2 years together now. We met October 2000 & married March 2001.

 My happy & warm thoughts for the day...week...years. Lingering with me. Neatly tied with a heartstring.

I adore you, honey...Here's to THIRTEEN MORE!

Yours, sher

***FIVE THINGS TO BE THANKFUL FOR***

1. The love of a good man...here's to you, Charlie Brown!~Lucy

2. Six and a half years of the true lovin' stuff.

3. One gorgeous day to kick back & remember it all.

4. Nine days of Spring Break (even if it's now over...)

5. And the beautiful flower garden he's planting...and the one he's tending within my heart.

Darn...tears...

Tags: Strawberry Girl, Spanish guitar