The Choice that Changed My Life

I’d  decided to never attend another church dance. I was 24 years old and essentially over it. If I never heard or did the YMCA again, it wouldn’t be soon enough. I could do without the electric slide. And, while I liked rockin’ to tunes in the privacy of my own home, it was unlikely that someone would see me fast dancing across the room and lose their heart.

But Saturday night came, my friends were going, and I thought, Why not? I never could have guessed that this random choice would change my life for the good. That night I met a man I instantly liked, someone I wanted to get to know better. A romantic relationships wouldn’t be instantaneous, but another bold choice nearly a year later – to say Maybe we should go on a date – would put us on the right track.

Today, 8(!) years of marriage later, I’m planning Tim’s 33rd birthday celebration and at a loss to explain what his love has meant to me. You know all those cheesy lines about people completing you, making you want to be a better person, etc.? Well, they’re all true.
Today, I want to wish a 
HaPpY BiRtHdAy
to my favorite person, someone I love for far more reasons than I could ever list here!

He’s like a superstar when he comes home. Everyone drops what they’re doing, running, and calling Dad! Despite long, exhausting days of studying, he doesn’t look for “me,” time, but enthusiastically hugs these kids and asks about their day.

I look forward to seeing him everyday, reading his occasional texts just to say hello or I love you, and I make him mixed tapes in my head while listening to the radio.

He brings out the silly in me, encouraging me to take life less seriously, take risks, go on adventures.

After all this time, he can still surprise me and make me wonder what comes next.