To My One And Only True Love...Happy Anniversary

I know this Hub is very self indulgent but, to be honest, I don't really care. I've been writing on Hub pages for about two months now and I've done everything from beg for fans to try to sell people on Internet marketing. Sure I've had a great time doing it but the one Hub I had really hoped to have people read was the one about my wife called I've Been with the same wench for 30 friggin years or something like that. (Just kidding Honey) It's okay, she doesn't read my hubs either. Anyway, the reason I was hoping to get people to read that one is because I want everyone in the world to know just how special my wife is. Not just to me but special in a way that other people, perfect strangers, feel comfortable enough around her to just strike up conversations. It's happened so many times and it's still amazing. But as luck would have it, my claim to fame on the Hub Pages is for a Hub where I promised pictures of naked people. Which thanks to many of you right here on Hub Pages, will have 6000 views by the end of the week. Who would have thought?

So I am writing this Hub as a tribute to my beautiful bride of 21 years who has been my best friend and closest companion for almost 31 years. And on January 16, 2009 my wife and I will celebrate an event in our lives that neither of us really wanted to do. We only did it because knew we would both benefit by getting a bigger tax write off. No, the truth is that had it not been for pressure from our families, we would have probably waited. We were young and very much in love but neither of us felt like it was necessary. We had already been together for so many years and felt so committed to one another, what would that piece of paper prove? Nothing as far as we were concerned but on that fateful day back in January 1988 we stood in front of 150 of our closest friends and family gave them all a reason to smile, laugh, cry and then party all night at our expense.

There was a time in both of our lives that we each had many friends. Since we started dating so young, at 14, many of the friends we had knew each other so it was easy to get together anyplace with friends and feel comfortable. As time went by, and as is common in young people's lives, we grew apart from some of our friends. By the time we graduated high school, we really only had a couple of friends left. So we started spending more and more time by ourselves. As you may guess, that can get to be difficult for a couple of young people. So over the years we've had to learn how to be each others best friend, and partner.

I can only speak for myself and say that I know I was not always the nicest person to be around nor the easiest to be friends with. I can remember more than one occasion where it would have been easy for my wife to cut me loose but somehow she always found it in her heart to forgive me. That is the mark of a true friend. Being able to forgive the other person no matter how they treat you because you know they really didn't mean to hurt you.

With that said, I would like to publicly thank my beautiful. loving wife for continuing to forgive me when I do things that hurt her, and for continuing to grow with me the older we get.  You are my very best friend and I promise to continue to learn to be a better mate to you so when the day comes that the kids are finally gone and it's just you and me, we will be able to deal with the quiet together and enjoy it.  You know that my love for you has only grown deeper over the last thirty years and the way you make me feel everyday of my life is all I could ever ask of you.  Thank you so much for being my best friend.

The one thing in our lives together that I know for certain, my wife is an amazing mother. I can take very little credit, if any, for the way our children have turned out. We have two of the most loving and caring and thoughtful children and at the ages of 19 and 14 I see so much of my wife in both of them that sometimes it's almost frightening. I know few parents who have children who trust their parents enough to be able to tell them anything.  I think it's especially rare to find kids who are not afraid to look their parents in the eye and tell them they love them.  But my children have been raised to never be afraid to tell us what is going on in their lives and to trust that we won't overreact. Something I will take a bit of credit for but to be honest, my children would never come to me with their problems or concerns, they go straight to their mother. She is the rock, the cornerstone of our family and we rely on her sense of what is right to guide us all. I believe that what she has accomplished as a mother is nothing short of a miracle and when I see what she has instilled in each of them I know there is nothing more a parent could do to prepare their children to become responsible adults. I have trusted her always to raise the children to be the best they can be and without doubt is the best mother I have ever seen. I am a lucky man to have landed such a caring person to raise children with and our children should truly be grateful to have her for their mom.

I know every man thinks they have landed the best woman in the world and that's okay for everyone else. Knowing what my wife has been through in her life and seeing how she has turned all of the pain she has been through into love and compassion for the world makes me see her as more than just a great woman. To me being a great human being is more important and that's exactly the way I see her, as a great human being. She tries to live her life as an example to others and truly cares about how other people perceive her. And even though I give her grief about the fact that she is too prudish and needs to loosen up a bit and swear once in a while and have an adult beverage or two or three when you're in Vegas, I know that she is living her life the way she needs to be happy. And at the end of the day all I really want is for my loved ones to feel loved and to be happy. And remember, if Mom's not happy, nobody's happy. I love you. Happy Anniversary.

Jim B

P.S. I fully intended on putting a big slide show of our special day but the photos have been put away for a while and it was difficult to find ones I wanted to use.  I will keep trying and get them posted as soon as I can.