Nine years ago today…

It was 8:15AM on a Monday, and we all had to go back to work; however, we had one thing left to do, one very important thing.

Standing in front of the Justice of the Peace in the courthouse in Prosser, Washington, surrounded by our sons, Dylan and Alex, and DeLeesa’s parents, Ron and DeAnn, we made a pledge in the sight of God, to love, honor and cherish each other from that day forward.

I remember we stopped for breakfast afterward.  I had a ham & cheese omelet (what’s new) and DeLeesa had steak and eggs, as did Dylan, and Alex had strawberry waffles (with lots of whipped cream) – it was without a doubt the best breakfast I had eaten in my 34 years.

We hadn’t planned on getting married that day; we had instead been planning a large church wedding for family and friends from around the world (many of my friends were in the military and deployed worldwide), the date of which was seven months away.  Had it not been for the Lord intervening earlier that year, we probably wouldn’t have been there at all.

For you see, in June of that year, we almost lost DeLeesa.  Due to complications with kidney stones, she now lay in a bed in the Critical Care Unit at St. Elizabeth Hospital.  I remember when I went to see her, I wasn’t allowed, because although we were engaged, I wasn’t family.  I had to get permission from her parents to enter the CCU.  As I stood there, looking at her frail body, with tubes and wires coming out, I realized that I did not want to spend another waking moment without being her husband.

As I walked out, I told her parents, “the minute she is better we are getting married.”

We did eventually have the church wedding as planned; and it was wonderful; however since that day, we have celebrated both days, one for us and one for the rest of the world.

So on this day, I want to say, thank you Lord, for allowing me to find her, and keep her.

And to my wonderful wife DeLeesa, thank you for being my best friend, my lover, my partner, for without you being my guiding light, I would surely be lost.