Last week, we here at Being Michael’s Daddy received a very prestigious award from an outstanding site, Eternal Lizdom. And of course, our humble blog is much honored.
Acceptance of this award also comes with some responsibility. Happily, there are only two rules:
1. Post a funny or sweet keepsake that tells something about myself.
2. Pass the award on to 10 other bloggers that I think are keepers.
First, the list. In my estimation, all of the blogs I list to the side are keepers, but of them I have chosen these ten to which to pass on the award.
World of Weasels
D is for Dad
BuildingCamelot
Antique Mommy
Life of a New Dad
Surprised Mom
Momo Fali’s
Big Bad Daddy Rant
Nuclear Family Warhead
Suburban Scrawl
These wonderful bloggers regularly provide thoughtful and humorous insights into their daily lives as parents, husbands/wives, sons/daughters and individuals. These are the people whose houses I hang out in front of in our virtual bloggy neighborhood. Luckily they haven’t chased me off their lawns yet.
As for a keepsake, I’ve spent the last nine days racking my brain to come up with something sweet or funny.
The fact is, I’m not sweet. That just isn’t a word I’d use to describe myself in any capacity. And I can’t claim funny either; the amusing stuff I write about here comes from my family, and predominantly my son. There wouldn’t be a blog without them, because on my own I’m about as interesting as a cardboard box.
But surrounding me in my life are plenty of sweet things. And tops on that list is my wife.
In 2002, after two children, several moves and a divorce, I was entering a time of my life where I became content with living alone and taking care of myself and my daughters when they were with me.
That year my older daughter joined the Girl Scouts. The Girl Scout leader and my ex-wife became pretty good chums, and one day they conspired to set me up on a blind date with one of the nurses who worked for the Girl Scout leader at a local hospital.
During a school book fair where I was volunteering, I heard my ex and the Scout leader chatting to each other about ten feet away from me, and taking turns glancing in my direction. Then my ex told me that they had a hot date for me, and asked if she could pass my email address along. The Scout leader said this lady is pretty and available, and had a great sense of humor. She said any time she’d ask her “Can I get you anything?” this nurse would respond “Yes! You can get me Prince Charming’s phone number!”
I laughed. “Okay, sure,” I said. “She sounds really nice.”
The next day, I got an email from her, complete with a little clip-art happy face wearing a straw hat. This woman sounded so irresistibly cute that I had to call her, and we set up a date to meet at a little deli that happened to be right next door to the hospital where she worked.
A thousand little things about her told me she was the one. She never took her eyes off of me as I talked. When I asked about her work, she got up and demonstrated on my arm where she usually places peripheral IVs; her touch was warm and gentle, the hallmark of a caring spirit. We both opted for light meals, but both chose a small slice of banana Bavarian cake for dessert. While driving around after our dinner, her cell phone rang, chiming out an ethereal rendering of “Clair de Lune,” one of my favorite songs.
I was smitten from the start.
As the weeks passed, we found more and more things in common: belief in Christ, a love for all things Disney, the same bizarre sense of humor, a similar parenting style, a future goal of building a unique house, and countless other little things.
She called me her Prince Charming, a moniker I never could have imagined anyone giving to me. I knew she was the one. There was no doubt in my mind.
Just a year later, I asked her to marry me, and she said yes.
After five and a half years, she still calls me her Prince Charming. And I’m still in awe of her incredible devotion to me and her unfailing love for our children. I now know just how truly wonderful, strong and solid a marriage can be, when you’re with the one person who is truly meant to be yours.
