I first met Cathy on October 23, 1999. I knew she was remarkable at first glance! We probably exchanged 3 sentences and by happenstance were brought together by friends in the beginning of 2000 hoping we would dispense with some mutual angst and move on with our lives.
Cathy and I dated approximately a year an a half. During that time she won me over and I put an engagement ring on her finger. A short while later we were watching the children play in the cove and questioned why wait. We had each experienced fancy weddings with our previous marriages. Noah was too young to appreciate a wedding; he has almost no memory of our trip to Disney World. Tommy was still too unpredictable and self-absorbed. The wedding would be meaningless to each of the boys, or so went our thinking. I checked some legalities and acquired a marriage license. Cathy and I told no one of our plan, had the grandparents watch the boys, and we took Sarah with us to Gatlinburg to Garter’s & Gun’s. We picked three nice costumes which velco’d on the back. They took our ol’ tyme photo. We went to a room decored as a chapel that could probably hold all of 10 people. The photographer performed a legally binding ceremony and Cathy and I became married on August 25, 2001 much to the disappointment and disbelief of many people.
Amy was born on June 10, 2002. There has been speculation that she encouraged our marriage. This speculation is wrong. Suffice it to say, everyone responded to 9/11 in their own way.
Six and a half years fly by so quickly. As I look back, they have been fantastic years! As I understand, the milestone years in marriages are 1, 3, 7, 10, 14, and 21. Those the years with the greatest numbers of divorces. Our relationship is still magical and strong. If anything could stand improvement, I need to be a better husband, father and provider. I remain the wildcard that introduces instability into our family. I need to be more of an anchor, a rock, a foundation. Looking back on our five years of marriage, the only missed goals have centered around that instability. So before we blink again and see another 5 years pass, I must provide more stability. In all other aspects, we have a wonderful marriage and a wonderful live!
Happy Anniversary Cathy! I love you!
ps. "5 years is a wood anniversary." Uh…
