12 years.. One of Us Must Be Certifiable

12 years ago in a galaxy far far way called Witchita Falls, Texas I married my geeky husband. We got married at the justice of the peace there. It was right over the Oklahoma border and where every service member went to get married.

Why??
Because they had no waiting period and required no blood test. Just show the clerk your military ID a birth certificate and BOOM you know have a nifty caligraphied piece of paper that says you're married. If only everything in life could be so easy.

For all of you who like to read love stories, here is ours. I wouldn't call it a love story. It's nothing like Ice Castles, or some sappy Nicholas Sparks novel, which incidentally I love his books. :) We just happened to be two people who met each other at the right time and the right place.

So hop in the time machine with me if you will to June 1997, Lawton/Fort Sill. I am 20 years old, living with a guy out of convenience, and have my oldest daughter. I was working that night at a bar on the strip right outside the Army post.

In walks my soon to be husband with an Army buddy of his. He was down from Kansas with his National Guard unit for their 2 week training. Que Dolly Parton song that talks about a guy coming in with tight blue jeans. Yep, he had on some tight blue jeans that night along with some cowboy boots too and a western shirt.

It was his 21st birthday and even though he had wanted to stay back at the barracks and sleep, his buddy would not let him.

Back then I had dyed my hair a bright red. Not just red, but bright bright red. I think it was a mistake, hopefully. Who knows what I was thinking back then.

We met by me breaking up an argument with him and his buddy. His buddy, who had a little too much to drink, spilled beer on my "soon to be" husband's boots. Now, if you know cowboys, you know they value two things, you don't mess with these things.
1. Their hat- you don't touch it, don't grab it, Just keep your grubby mitts off it. And number 2. Their boots- They may be scruffy, unpolished, and have holes in them, but you don't mess with them.

In all honesty, it was a play argument. My honey wasn't going to drag him out to the parking lot. In his own words, "I just wanted to get your attention."

Get my attention?! Have you ever heard of just saying, "Hi there, You look like a nice person. Want to talk?" Noooooo.. Let me pretend to get in a fist fight to get you to notice me. That works soooo much better.

But in fact it did work. I started talking with him. Finding out he was from Missouri . Just finishing out his National Guard duty with the Kansas guard. He was going to college, working full time. All of that fun stuff you learn about someone.

As the 2 weeks started coming to an end, he asked me if I had ever been to Missouri. Not since I once went to camp back when I was 12.

"Want to come there again?" He asked.

"You do know that I have a 1 year old daughter, right?" I asked. This usually makes most guys turn in the other direction.

"Of course, do both of you want to come to Missouri? With me?" He asked.

And I couldn't resist those baby blue eyes of his. And I did something that if either one of my girls ever ever EVER did what I did, I would kick their asses all the way to kingdom come. I went off with a guy I had known for 2 weeks.

I packed mine and my daughter's bags and told my boyfriend of convenience that I was done with him. And set off on an adventure with a Yankee turned Mid West cowboy/geek.

*My husband wants me to tell all of you that he is NOT a geek. He may like Stargate and work in IT but he is not a geek.*

(Yes he is people. No he doesn't read IT manuals for fun or have a pocket protector, but ask him about the IT field and the truth comes out)

We may not have the perfect marriage. We fight, ignore each other, sometimes even tell each other that we really don't like the other one, sometimes one of us will even sleep on the couch because we're so mad, and we most definitely drive each other crazy.

But in the end, we both know the other is the only one we want to live out our sunset years with. He may never read our life story to me when I'm old and senile, but he definitely would buy me enough books to read for an eternity.

So it is today, that I say: I'm glad I took that trip to Missouri with you, glad we stuck it out all those times we wanted to walk away and glad that we mark 12 years together.

LOVE YOU MOSTEST!!