Since I have abandoned Facebook and all other social media outlets, you guys are the closest thing I've got to a platform to let this out.
Thirty five years ago Jennifer and I stood in front of a judge in Minot, ND and said our "I do's" attended by a small group of family members. No fancy wedding, no destination honeymoon, just a quick ceremony followed by a few hours of alone time and then I was on my way back to Mare Island Naval Station in California to complete my Navy training.
She would join me a few months later when I had secured off-base housing where we slept on air mattresses for the first month of our new life together.
Navy training completion lead to a relocation to Mayport, Fl where I spent the next three years stationed aboard the USS Dale which meant many deployments, including two six month cruises (one during Operation Desert Storm).
Spending so much or our early marriage apart helped both of us mature and fostered a deeper appreciation for the time that we could spend together.
Following an early release due to my ship decommissioning, we moved to Omaha, NE where we set to raising two daughters and building our lives together. We have each continued to grow both our careers and our commitment to each other.
During that time we've faced hard times and adversity but somehow managed to come through all of them together.
Good times as well. We've visited many different countries and territories from Mexico and the Caribbean to Italy, Greece, and Turkey.
Our children have grown up, moved out, moved back, got married (the youngest), moved out again.
We relocated to Phoenix, AZ where we spent a blissful couple of years alone only to have to move back to Omaha after Covid changed so much of the world.
All that said, it's been a hell of a ride and one that I hope will continue long into the future.
She is absolutely the best thing that's ever happened to me and I am one lucky son-of-a-gun to have her by my side so many years later.
Here's to another....well, I don't know how many more years but I'll be with her until the end.
Though a clothing optional cruise to Alaska in May would probably be a bit on the chilly side.
