20 years with my dream girl

Let me first say that burping during a hiccup is painful and arguably one of the scariest things that can happen to you. For that split second you have no idea if you are going to release air or suck it in, and so you completely freak out. You shut down mentally and just give yourself over to the natural state of things, hoping that once this crisis passes you will once again remember how to draw breath and become a normally functioning human being.

20 years ago today was a great day for me. I asked a cute girl with strawberry blonde hair out on a date earlier and on September 15, 1989, we went out on our first date. It is hard for even me to describe how nervous I was that night. It pains me to say, that it was my father who suggested I ask her out on a date on the same night her parents were coming over to help my parents move in. He will never let me forget that.

I remember what she wore. She wore cream pants that showed off her nice ass (of course then I would not use such language), a gold colored shirt and a navy blue scarf around her waist. I think that is the first and last time she wore a scarf around her waist. I remember what she looked like coming in the door...I remember that exact moment. Those who know me can attest to my pathetic memory, and the fact I can remember that shows that I was probably in love even before our first date began.

To give you an idea as to how nervous I was, I drove my route to go to work instead of the movie we were supposed to go to and meet a few friends. I realized this after about 10 minutes in the car, and probably made up some excuse as to why I had to do a U-turn on Lawrenceville Highway. My music selection was critical. Since we both went to church and her dad worked for a ministry that my dad was very active in, I needed to have some contemporary Christian music in case she had decided in camp, the summer before, to give up all secular music so she would not be tempted to do awful things with boys. I also had some U2 in case she turned out to actually be cool and maybe later she would let me do some awful things. I remember where we were when she said she liked U2 and I was pleased to take the Degarmo and Key tape from the deck and put in some Sort of Homecoming. This was the beginning of a beautiful relationship between us and music.

We finally made it to Batman and then Chili's with friends. We split a cheese-stick appetizer and neither one of us ate the last one in fear of looking like a pig. Of course now, we fight over it if not just each ordering our own basket of cheese-sticks.

That was a great night. One in which my life completely changed for the better. My wife is the best thing that has happened to me besides the love and grace of Jesus Christ. She is like the color in my world . I never want to know what it would be like without her. She is the best part of me. Anything good in me has her and God's fingerprints all over it, and she makes me want to fix the bad things in me, not so that she will love me more, but to show her that I love her and want only the best for her, including my best.

My heart grows heavy as I think of her role in my life. Not heavy out of sadness, but of the gravity of what she means to me and how much I treasure her. She is so special and unique and I have never met anyone who possibly measures up to her beauty, gentleness, perfect sense of humor, and sweet ass. She is lovely personified in my eyes. She is everything I could have wanted in a friend and wife and so much more that I did not think was even possible. She is God's greatest gift to me. There have been times in which when I see her face I feel God's spirit speak in my heart and say, "See how much I love you, Brian? I gave you her." Yes he did. He gave me Amy. My life is an attempt to say "Thanks".