This page is dedicated to my husband.

My love, you are everything to me. You have inspired me, motivated me, consoled me, supported me, angered me, pushed me to excel, enlightened me, enriched me, hurt me, loved me, spoiled me, pampered me, healed me. What words are there that can convey what you mean to me?

My mother used to tend bar for a living and I would, from time to time, visit her and watch her work.  One night in November, 1984, I was doing just that and decided that I would like to hear some music.  I walked over to the juke box, put in my money, and started to pour over the list of songs. I found one I wanted to hear (I can't remember what it was) and punched in the numbers.  Nothing happened.  I jiggled the machine a bit, thinking that my quarter had maybe not fallen all the way in.  Still nothing.  Like an idiot I tried putting more money in...nothing.
While I was getting more and more frustrated with this silly machine, a man who was there throwing steel darts noticed my troubles.  He came over and tried to help me.  He REALLY jiggled the box.  About $2 worth of quarters fell out but still no music.  Rather than break the stupid thing I decided to give up.  The knight in shining armor invited me to sit and watch the game and as I had nothing better to do, (and he was actually kinda cute), I accepted the invitation. After an hour of getting to know eachother a little, he asked me to dinner.  He bragged that he made the best stakes in the state.  It was a date!  We exchanged numbers, I went back to say goodnight to my mom, he went back to finishing his dart game.
I'm not sure of the exact timing but just before our dinner date, he called to make sure everything was still on.  I wanted to make sure that he knew what he was getting into so I told him a few truths about myself that I thought he should be aware of.  First, I had a three month old little girl who came first in my life before anything.  No problem what-so-ever!  He loves kids.  Second, I was only 17, not to be 18 until the following month.  His jaw hit the floor.  He mumbled a few words about "..that's ok, I don't mind, blah blah blah.." He decided that he would keep the dinner date out of politeness but he was not interested in starting a relationship with someone so much younger than him.  (I, of course, was not told this until years later) He was 25.
Well, the dinner was an absolute disaster.  He had forgotten to take the steak out of the freezer in time so, before he left to pick me up, he put it in the oven on 'warm'.  Then he cooked it in the broiler.  It was pure sawdust.  Even so, the night went much different than what he had expected.  We agreed on many things and I didn't sound like the usual flighty teenager.  We had another date.  And another.  Pretty soon we were talking about me moving in with him.
Our road, since then, has had some monumental pot holes in it.  But in the end, we have become closer than either one of us would have believed a few years ago.
He is truly the love of my life.