It was 20 years ago today...

Okay, it was 20 years ago last Friday, but it was a most noteworthy personal milestone for Mrs. V and me.

21 years ago an attractive young woman at work caught my eye. I tried to subtly inquire about her...but subtle was never my strong suit. I bought Tupperware from her, just to give me an excuse to meet her. I didn't even need the Tupperware. Finally, I screwed up the courage to ask her out. It's a decision I'll always be thankful I made.

Mrs. V was only 24 years old. Just a baby. I soon learned that her husband had left her and her 3 month old son just 3 months earlier. "A kid.", thought I. "Oh boy." But once I met Kyle, I immediately fell in love with him. It was a match made in Heaven.

We dated, fell in love, and anxiously awaited the day that her divorce would be final. It seemed to take f-o-r-e-v-e-r. Finally, in late July 1988, the judgment was finalized, and we could set a date. We didn't just set a date, we cherry picked THE date from that year -- August 8th. 8-8-88.

Fast-forward 20 years. We've been through a lot together. Good times and bad. I reckon that most of the bad was my fault. Yet, by God's grace, we made it through the hard times and grew in love and appreciation of each other.

Mrs. V is truly the most loving, most thoughtful, most patient and long-suffering of spouses. She is truly the second greatest blessing God has given me, second only to His gift of salvation through Christ Jesus.

DP, I love you so very much and always will. You are my friend, my confidant, my strong constant in a crazy, unpredictable world. Thank you so much for 20 wonderful years. I look forward to growing old together with you.