More beautiful than the day we met.
On this day in 1986 I had the good fortune to marry the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, but more than beautiful on the outside, she’s also beautiful on the inside. Catherine Robinson, I love you and wouldn’t trade the last 30 years for all of the gold in Fort Knox. When I had nothing, you loved and supported me, on the days that I wanted to quit, you were the one who picked me up and pushed me back into the world. When I felt like I was getting my teeth kicked in, you stood with me and helped me to make it through. I remember the day that I came to you and said that I wanted to quit my cushy job with the government to start a business. This adventure would require me to start over from scratch with no salary, and invest every dime of our savings. Our household income would also be cut by more than 60%, but you stood with me. You believed in me and my abilities enough to only ask that I show you my plan and how I would make it work. It was you who was there when I came home at 11pm after my first appointment that lasted almost 3 hours in which I didn’t make the sale. It was you who was there the next night when I came home having spent another 3 hours with the same client only to find out that my commission was only $7. There would be many more nights like those two, but no matter what happened you were always there to lift me up and keep me looking and moving forward.
While I was building the business, you took care of the house, managing what little money we had and most importantly you were there for our children. I look at those 5 girls today and in each of them I see your influence. When I watch them with their children, I see your hands all over their parenting techniques. When I visit their homes, I find the very same rules that they hated so much while growing up, now being enforced in their own homes.
For thirty years, you have loved and supported me, I can’t think of a single time that I needed you and you were not there. Even in the times that I didn’t know it until later, you were there, especially when I was a moron.
Catherine, the very first time that I met you, I knew that you would one day be my wife, these last 30 years have sometimes been very trying for both of us, but somehow we have managed to stay together loving and supporting each other. I’m sure that when you decided to marry me, most people who knew us had the under on how long we would last, fortunately we had the over. We have spent half of our lives together, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Happy anniversary to the love of my life, and here’s to our next 30 years.
Sincerely,
CPR