October 22, 2017: one small milestone celebration!

Because my parents had such an epic romantic tale, I believe I always fancied one myself. When I fell in love at 15-16 and declared to my parents that that is the boy I wanted to marry, I thought they would understand. But what did they do instead?! As soon as the school year ended, they shipped me off to another city in another state. Perhaps not entirely by design, I ended up in an all girls' school. A year later, our family moved to Canada. Talk about taking drastic steps to protect my future! Through it all, I remained stubborn and loyal to the boy. When I turned 21, my dad confessed to me that he was impressed with my determination. No amount of distance broke my resolve. He probably saw a bit of himself in me?!

I have always wanted to be like my dad and most people say that I am very much like him. However, recently, I see a bit of my mom in me too. She is wonderful with people and can assemble an army in a few minutes that would fight for her with intense loyalty. That kind of connection with people is special. Because she was so tough on me, I never took the time to "see" and appreciate her. Now, I can step back and admire her. I actually wish for some of her qualities.

On this special anniversary, I am glad for the genetic makeup I am born with, and I am sure the boys are partial beneficiaries of this wonderful legacy. Even if I fail in other ways, at least this is a certainty!

Happy 45th mom and dad!

Thank you for protecting me even when I resented you for it. Thank you for forgiving me even when I was too old to make some mistakes. Thank you for the unconditional love. Thank you for being who you are.

Recently, Craigley and I were grocery shopping, and running late. I called ASid to go pick up Hans from his Art lesson. I felt bad for bothering the teen. Here is what Craigley had to say, "It is good for them to spend some time together and talk about their parents." To which I nodded in agreement and said, "My brother and I would do that all the time; get together and complain about our parents!" Craigley looked at me and asked in disbelief, "What did you two complain about? They are like the best parents!" Craigley thought that my brother and I are the two most ungrateful children ever.

When a man can think so highly of his wife's parents, that’s an unusual and a rare tribute to those parents! So, I simply rest my case with that!