12 years!!

Aug. 16th, 1996-- Friday evening @ 6:30, Dan and I were married!! It was such a fun wedding. We danced the night away! 12 years and 4 kids later, here we are. Wow!! It doesn't seem possible.
I will never forget the first time I met Dan. It was in the dorm cafeteria and he was bald!! Not bald, going bald, but bald, shaved his head bald. He was training for a marathon and decided "hey, what the heck". Needless to say, he didn't look great bald, more like a cancer patient. The memory I have of him was that he was kind of weird, but funny wierd. At the time, I was dating someone seriously and thought little of the encounter. As things went, my boyfriend and I broke up and Dan and I became friends. Somehow he became the person I confided in about my heartbreak and we spent a lot of time together. People started asking about us and my response was "NO!-- he's like my brother, we are just friends". After awhile things changed for him. I will never forget hanging out with a good friend of mine and her telling me-- Dan told me that you are the one he is going to marry. What?!! Eventually, he told me how he felt and I wasn't sure what I felt. But Dan was patient, pursued me and eventually our great friendship developed and I fell in love with my best friend.
We have had a busy up and down 12 years, stressful at times, we've yelled and cried and laughed and had fun.
So for our anniversary we had wanted to get away to a B & B for a few days, catch up with each other, relax and enjoy each other.... But work, kids, school and stuff got in the way. However, at the last minute, Dan arranged for us to have a night in a hotel in Lincoln. We didn't travel or go anywhere special, but it was awesome. It was soooo nice to get away, just the two of us. Since we have had kids, I think we have done that maybe once!! That is so sad. And the date nights have been few and far between. It was so nice to be together and remember why we married each other and to renew the "us" in our family. Wow!!
I just think it is soo vital! I have seen so many marriages struggling and fighting and ending. It is so sad and we think it could never happen to us. But if we don't take the time for just us, it could so easily happen.
Anyway, I've remembered that yes I do love my husband and even like him a lot. He is wonderful and we are going to try to do this more often. I want us to be a priority. It was a great celebration of 12 years!