For My Wife

Wednesday August, 7th was the anniversary of the date that I moved from California to Pennsylvania. It's been nine years since I made that move, and even now I still get the same look and question from people when they find out that I traded life in sunny Southern California for the schizophrenic weather of Central Pennsylvania. They don't understand. They probably never will understand. But they don't need to understand. I know why I made the move. And if I could go back to that date, I would do the same thing all over again.

August, 6th, was a more important day though. Tuesday marked the eight year anniversary of the day my wife, Amber, and I made a lifetime commitment to each other. And I know what your thinking; "Eight years? That doesn't seem like a lot." But in the world we live in today, eight years is kind of like 50. What's the 50 year present? Diamonds? Sorry, honey. Maybe I'll get you a car next year to make up for it. Probably not. But, maybe.

Amber and I have always had what I like to call a "uniquely perfect" relationship. We are complete opposites. When we met on December 17th, 1999, she was very much into boy bands like N*Sync and Backstreet Boys. I was very much into Bad Religion and Pennywise. She was a Preacher's daughter. I was not the kind of young man that a Preacher would allow to get within 100 yards of their daughter.

And to this day, not much has changed. Our musical differences aside, we are near polar opposites in every aspect of life. She likes board games. loves them, in fact. I detest board games. She kinda sorta likes baseball. I'm a baseball fanatic (although I think this rubbing off on her because she harbors some love for Mike Trout). I swing to the left on the political spectrum. If she cared about politics (she doesn't) she would swing to the right. She likes Chinese food. I go to Chinese restaurants and eat pizza. She likes Mongolian food. If Mongolian food restaurants served pizza, I would eat pizza at a Mongolian food restaurant. She's a little bit country, and I'm a little bit Rock N' Roll. She is, quite literally, the Yin to my Yang.

But that difference, is what makes us, "us." And I wouldn't trade that uniqueness for anything in the world.

She's the most selfless, understanding and caring person I have ever known. She always has everyone's best interests at heart. She likes to refer to herself as a "doormat" because of those qualities. Me? I believe them to be the qualities that endear her the most to me. She is loving, compassionate and warm. Even though I suffer from genetic insecurity, I have not once felt like Amber has fallen out of love with me. I know that I have taken a back seat to our two children as far as who holds her heart the tightest, but I know that I come in right behind them.

They say that your significant other is your "better half." I don't think that that is good enough. Amber is not just my "better half." She is my "best half." She is the reason why I moved 3,000 miles with almost no money and (literally) sand in my suitcase. She is the reason that I will not settle for a mediocre life. She is the reason why I still believe that dreams can and do come true. Because I dreamt about a life with her. I imagined it while she was living on the east coast and I was getting tan on the left coast. I thought about it as we communicated both by phone and letter for nearly four years after she moved here in 2000.

Our relationship is like a movie script. These things just don't happen in real life. Boy meets girl at 16. Girl moves to the other side of the country. Four years later, boy moves to be with her. Who does that? Outside of Hollywood, who actually does that.

I do. That's who. And I did it because at 16 years old, I got butterflies whenever i was around Amber. I knew then that this was something special. And now, nearly 14 years, 3,000 miles, eight years of marriage and two children later, I still get those same butterflies. They don't happen as often, but they happen often enough to remind me why I am where I am. And why everyday I get to wake up next to her, is another day that I have been blessed.

I love you, Amber. As much, if not more, now than I ever have. Thank you for being my everything.