captkevman

I first met her on the phone, and even then, I could hear her smile. She had a quiet energy and youthful zeal in her voice that lifted me during a dark period in my life.

We spoke for hours a day on the phone for an entire week before we first laid eyes on each other. During our conversations, my low self esteem painted the image of a monster in her mind’s eye, and yet she wanted to see me anyway.

We arranged for a meeting at a local mall, and when I first saw her, I thought I was in a dream — or perhaps about to become the victim of a cruel prank. How could this stunningly beautiful young woman possibly want to be with someone like me?

She greeted me with a heart-melting smile and a huge hug, and I reciprocated in kind, still stunned that such a perfect creature would want to embrace me. I presented her three roses I had concealed inside my jacket. We walked around the mall, starting with the video game arcade, and spent a couple of hours getting to know one another in person. We had a quick bite to eat at Chick-Fil-A, and I walked her out to where her father was waiting to pick her up (we were both car-less at the time, I had been dropped off by a friend and caught a bus home).

We smiled and hugged and agreed that we would see each other again. We filled the time between with marathon phone calls every night.

—-

Five years later, we were in the hospital. The pain started early in the morning, and we arrived just before dawn. After all day being tended to by nurses and anesthesiologists, she gave birth to our first child, our daughter. It was exactly five years, almost to the exact minute, from the moment we first saw each other.

Another eleven-plus years have passed since then, and our family is still going strong. Sure, we have our challenges, like everyone, and yes, we could probably do things a bit better and work a bit harder. But for all our imperfections and foibles, we have each other. She fills in my weak spots and I fill in hers. She makes me a better man, and I make her a better woman.

Epilogue

This entry (and all after it) were delayed by the first real trial our marriage has faced in its nearly 15-year existence, which took place over the course of the past week. I will not be more specific than that, but suffice it to say that we have both emerged from it with renewed energy and conviction we haven’t felt since we first met.

More than ever, her smile moves and inspires me to be a better husband, better father, and a better man.