Now and Forever

I'll start off this post about a certain someone with my favorite quote:

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.

- Charlotte Bronte

I met my love at as a "date" for my best friend's girlfriend at a hotel Christmas party for his company nine years ago. Confused yet? Ok, I was the girlfriend's date while my buddy brought the sister as his date since they both worked for the same company. It was a casino-theme'd party, and since they were both allowed to bring someone, so instead of just bringing each other... my friend brought his casino loving friend and she brought her sister.

It was not love at first sight.

In true Drizz fashion, I was wearing sneakers (clean!) with my shirt and tie ensemble and I thought I looked like a million bucks. Yeah, nice fashion sense dipshit. The sister was somewhere between bitchy and worn-out, not to mention unapproachable. Any attempts I had to converse with the short blonde with the nice legs were rebuked by glares that reminded me Arnold's "what'cha takin' about Willis". I guess my suaveness wasn't fit for success tonight, so I did what every person should do when romance isn't in the cards. Get drunk and gambOOOOl! The sister went up to the suite and slept while us three threw dice for monopoly money and tipped back mixed spirits. Neither of us took home any of the good prizes, but we did stay up to shoot the shit for the remainder of the night in the hotel's bar. During the conversation my buddy's girlfriend asked me "so what do you think of my sister?". I told her she was very unapproachable (probably not using those PC terms). And she tried to explain about working too much and her asshole boyfriend. But, it went in one ear and out the other because at that point in my life the last thing I needed was a relationship. I was finally coming out of a deep depression and starting to enjoy life again, I couldn't deal with complications.

Go to work, go clubbing/bar hopping, go to the casino, drink too much, rinse and repeat. That was my life for one and half years. I was getting over a break up of someone I just couldn't let go of and that's how I dealt with it.

Fast forward to softball season.

I've never played co-ed softball before, so I was apprehensive about coming out, but Burnsie (the friend mentioned above) insisted I come and play on his girlfriend's team. As we reached the Anoka County FairGrounds (sorry Al, there were no freaks there, the county fair wasn't for another 3 months) I saw the reason why guys play co-ed sports. All these sweaty, bouncy ladies running around in form fitting athletic wear. I managed to stop drooling for two seconds to inquire Burnsie about the female in the maroon biker shorts with the perfect legs.

"You met her already, remember the Home Depot party?"

While taking batting practice, I tried to strike up a conversation with her and this time she spoke with a smile! "What happened to your neck??" Oops. I forgot about the hickey on my neck the size of Gorbachev's birth mark. "Ah, I must have slept on it funny". Smooth Dave, real smooth. But, luckly she ignored teeth marks enough to get to know her a little further, and she dropped the hints about wanting to break up with her boyfriend and moving back home. We chatted about softball and up coming parties at Burnsie's place and she promised to drop by the next party.

Fast forward thru, too many parties, two houses, a couple of shouting matches, several hundred softball games, one birth, and five years after promising to have each other's back and we arrive today.

Karisa Jean Anderson, I love you with all my heart and soul and thank you for overlooking my imperfections and allowing me to be the dork I am. Happy Anniversary hon. Here's to five years of marriage and promises of fifty more years if the Cap'n Cokes don't get to me first.

I don’t wanna live without your love
I don’t wanna face the night alone
I could never make it through my life If I had to make it on my own
I don’t wanna love nobody else, I don’t wanna find somebody new
I don’t wanna live without your love, I just wanna live my life with you.

I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love - Chicago

"Traditional 5th wedding anniversary gifts have a theme of Wood." Oh man, anyone want a shot at a pun here?

Thanks for dropping by, now go here if you can't remember what to get your significant other on your next anniversary.

And please go check out Pauly's newest installment of conversations with strippers, if I'm lucky enough to go to a gentlement's club this weekend I gotta try out one of those lines and maybe get a discount in the VIP room... Talk about marriage and strippers all in one post, I need to go to confession or something.