Day 13 Ride of Your Life

Today is my husband Mark's birthday. Mark took the day off work and we are going to spend the day together. We have plans to go to lunch and perhaps shop for some new cooking knifes for my chef want-to-be. I am looking forward to spending this time with the man I love.

 Meeting Mark will always be one of the best moments in my life. It actually ranks as high as when my girls were born. He has helped me laugh at myself and life. Quite honestly one of his most endearing qualities when I met him was his easy going attitude and his sense of humor. Over the years as life has pounded away at us, I have lost some of my appreciation for this gift and at times have said things like "Everything is not a joke you know!" or "Very funny Chuckles!" Reality is that Mark is my better half, he finishes me off or to steal the line from the movies, "He completes me". I did not have to put a picture of Mark on a dream board, he just showed up in my life and I knew he was the one for me. There was no doubt for me from the moment we met; I knew I was going to marry him.

 Our life together is one like most couples, we have our highs and our lows but after 18 years of marriage, I still say I would marry him all over again. There is no one I would rather spend my life with. I look forward to the weekends when we can be together and when we are on vacation together I am always sad when he has to go back to work. We are always thinking about and planning our next trip, travel is another adventure that we love to share together and with our girls.

 On this day of his birth he remains a true gift in my life. He is easy going and understanding, loving and caring. He can show patience with people and have no patience when repairing objects. He is organized at work and not so organized at home. Mark has a brilliant mind and he has helped all our girls with their homework, putting up with many evenings of crying girls at our dining room table as they made their way through assignments they did not understand.
I have no idea how or why we were brought together in this life, but I do know that it works. It is easy to get swept up in the day to day stuff of life and forget that where you are is the most amazing place to be, or even to remember how lucky you are. Today on Mark's birthday I remember. There will be more trials ahead for us, just like there are for everyone, but one thing is for sure. We are together and when the chips are down and there is nothing else we can count on, we will have each other. To me that is the best gift ever and it isn't even my birthday! I love you Mark, Happy Birthday!!