I'm Crazy about....

My husband!

He's such an amazing man. I first met him when I was 17 (and a half!)...I had just graduated high school and he was/is a good buddy of my cousin. They had just graduated college. He was 23!

He's in front on the left in the jeans carrying the bag. He had that All-American Tom Cruise (back when Tom was really cool...pre-TomKat and sofa jumping!) look about him and he has an awesome smile!

Off to college I went and my cousin went off to law school. Four years later we both graduated again....another party...another chance meeting. I was then 21 and he was 26.

Seven months later, my cousin's apartment has a fire. Tragic, but no one was hurt...and it was the "spark" we, hub and I, needed! There was a pity party and Hub and I finally got to talk and get to know each other.

That next week we have our first "date". We continue to date...we break-up because Hub never wanted to get married...we get back together because Hub realizes I'm pretty terrific! We finally get engaged in July 1996 and married October 1997!

We had our beautiful and amazing daughter, Bug, in April 2001.

Fast forward to September 2006...Hub is laid off for the third time in five years. He hates the business he is in and we hate living with him as miserable as he is. He travels to Fairfax, VA for a vacation with a great buddy (not my cousin, but another buddy from their college group) and to take the police exam. He returns to us excited! Hub is not one who gets excited so it's awesome to see him energized about something.

The problem...the job is seven states and 450 miles away from where we own a house and have all of our extended family and many very good friends.

Hub continues the "hiring process" by returning to Virginia in November and December. He is disqualified in January for medical reasons then after sending records, he is re-qualified in March. In April a background investigator comes to MA to interview folks, including me and we realize that a big move is in our future. In Late May, Hub is officially offered the job and he was EXCITED! He started in June and began the six-month police academy in September 2007 almost a year after losing his last job!

The move to VA was very tough on me personally, our marriage, our little family and our extended families. I am not gonna lie, we fought hard and nasty at times and I threatened to leave and he told me to leave...we hung in there....

Hub graduated first in his academy class and I knew we had made the right choice. I was so proud of him!

Fast forward another couple of years...we've moved again. We've pretty much ruined ourselves financially. We've been married almost 13 years and I can honestly say I love my life! I love Hub with all my being. He is an amazing man full of integrity and honor. He makes me a better person. He brings a calmness to my life and is my shelter in the storm of life. Sometimes things are really hard, but at the end of the day I am so grateful that our paths crossed and re-crossed and then re-crossed again.

Hub is not comfortable with attention or the spotlight. He was kinda embarrassed about graduating first. He likes to go with the flow and hang in the middle of the pack. He doesn't like me to brag about him, but he deserves it! He was over 40 with a wife and young daughter and he did a major career change and our family is better for it!

I love you Hub! Thanks for your patience with me and for hanging in there with us!