Beyond The Basics

Today I have the privilege of celebrating five years of marriage to my beautiful wife. We’ve lived a lot of life in the last five years so I thought today would be a good day to allow you, dear reader, a rare glimpse into my personal life and share my top five favorite moments with Gina from the last five years.

Obviously, our wedding day would be number one so I’m not going to count that day. Nothing else could even compare to that day so it wouldn’t even be fair. So babe, if you’re reading, just know that our wedding day transcends any top five list I could ever create.

So now, without further ado, on to everyone’s favorite thing on the internet, a list in descending order!

5. The night we stayed at the Don Cesar for our anniversary. That was by far the most luxurious hotel I’ve ever been in. It’s a huge castle-like hotel right on the beach on the Gulf of Mexico here in St. Petersburg and everything was amazing, from the view to the food to the pool and amenities. We still talk about it to this day.

4. The day she told me she would have to go live with her parents in Minnesota if I didn’t come home from Massachusetts. She was seven months pregnant with our son and I had been working in Massachusetts for a year while she was here in Florida by herself. I had a job that I loved that paid extremely well but it took me all over the country. She had been travelling with me for a while but with the baby coming she could no longer do that so she told me it was time to come home. It was then that I knew that I had found the best kind of woman that every man needs: a woman who will tell her man what he needs to hear, not just what he wants to hear. A woman that will stand up for her family’s best interests and not just let her husband go do whatever he wants. Thankfully, I had some good counsel who told me she was right and I listened. That was extremely difficult to leave behind a great career that I loved but every minute since then has been worth it. Now I get to come home from work every single day and see her and let me tell you fellas, if you’re thinking about choosing your career over your family, there is nothing that is worth more than seeing the smiling faces of your family each day when you come home. No paycheck or sense of job fulfillment can ever replace that.

3. The week we decided to adopt our dog, Nora. I had been working in Massachusetts and Gina had sent me a photo of her with a dog that her friend had picked up from an adoption agency. Her friend had brought it home for a week trial period but the dog didn’t get along well with her other two dogs so she brought it over to our house. Gina sent me a photo and I immediately knew I wanted this dog. So I asked her to set up a trial period for when I would be home over Christmas and we literally spent that entire week playing with this dog. Now, three and a half years later, she has become our adorable, lovable, highly energetic and neurotic dog Nora:

2. The day we drove into St. Petersburg, Florida. My job had sent us down here after being in Williston, North Dakota for seven months. We got word that we were being sent down here so we packed everything up and hauled our rear ends down here in three days. Ten hours back to Minnesota, then sixteen hours to Chattanooga and nine more hours to St. Petersburg. We drove in as the sun was setting and it also happened to be my birthday that day. As soon as we saw the city we knew we wanted to live here and now we’ve been here for nearly four years.

1. The day our son Eli was born. I mean, what else could it be? Gina was in labor for over 27 hours, most of that time without an epidural, which, if you’re reading this, that should seriously scare you. Like, not even Captain America has that kind of endurance. And then to go on and not sleep for the next three days while she learned how to feed and care for this baby? She’s a freaking superhero, you guys.

Five years isn’t a long time but we’ve been through a lot together in a short amount of time. I thank God every day that He found me worthy enough for her and that I get to live the good life with her. Because no matter how crazy life gets, I get to go through life with my best friend at my side and a son, a nutso dog and soon a daughter running like crazy behind us.

Happy five year anniversary, Gina. I love you.