Our 20 years together really has been a joint effort. We both have made some sacrifices and concessions that helped build this family that we have today. We have made some tough decisions and choices that ultimately landed us where we are today. Through all of that we remain hopelessly in love, we still hold hands, we still would rather spend time with each other than anyone else and we are still enjoying each other. Wow.
I can take you back 20 years to our first apartment together. What was it 660 sq ft? Tiny little kitchen that had I think 3 drawers. A bathroom the size of a postage stamp (although I don't remember having to wait to shower like I do now), small living/dining area and a single bedroom. Of course that bedroom is memorable since our first child was conceived there. We even found the room for Charlie for a while. I guess carrying groceries up the 3 flights of stairs wasn't so bad considering we couldn't afford many groceries. If you remember we had only the 1 car at the time, as I didn't have my own car until a little while later. You made it very Christmas-like with a tiny little tree. Hey I think we even have 3 ft by 3 ft foyer! It was small but it was ours. Our first place together.
We certainly hit the big time when we moved into the townhouse. Two floors! A sweet little room for our baby. That comfy chair (how do we get that back?). The first of my many "desks". We had such a good time in that pool. If you remember I worked virtually every Saturday on the help desk. I had to, it represented close to 15% of my pay. Do you remember how panicked we would get when I couldn't get someone to trade with me so we could have the hours? Of course while I worked you spent all day at Taco Bueno with your sister and the boys. I was always so jealous. Luckily you got to work at home and care for the boys. So we got to see each other. It got harder when I worked the overnight shift. But hey I got shift differential pay for that time. We needed the money. Yet somehow I never felt poor. We had each other - our life was perfect. However, if you remember we had to move when they raised the rent $200/month. Think about how little $200 is to us now. Yet at that time we simply couldn't afford that amount more every month. Yet we were so happy.
We landed shortly there after in Misty Woods. I am pretty sure neither of us thought we would be there for so long. But i think it was around 3 years we stayed. We conceived and brought our second baby home to that apartment. Two weeks later you were back at work. We needed the money. I had opted to make the difficult decision to go to the airline side and my Saturday pay went away. We made LESS that year than we did the previous year. Ouch. I'll bet Barack Obama has a plan that would have kept you from going back to work so soon. Too bad his magic wand wasn't available then. However, we wouldn't have taken such a handout. We had the chocolate bar incident, a series of nutty neighbors, bought a mini-van (our first ever new car) and had "whatever" eating holes in the closet wall. Yet we were so happy.
Then our first house. How we pulled that off I have no idea. Do you remember how nervous we were about the earnest money check? That check was about as good as a check from our youngest nephew would be now. Yet we found ourselves standing in our first house. I think it may have actually been your first house ever. That house meant so much to us. It wasn't perfect but it was ours. With its endless supply of leaves, squirrel vacation homes in the attic, 75% paint job on the outside, shag carpeting, the disappearing backyard grass, the litany of contractors who did this that or the other for our remodel (a new back patio? what were we thinking?) and the list goes on. But it was ours. How can we forget the awesome shelf unit in the playroom. WE did that. All trying to make the best of what we had for our family. Most of the time we lived there I was in school, you worked full time and often two jobs, i had a full time job and studied until all hours of the night. Yet somehow our kids didn't notice, they were happy, we found time to go out dancing and we didn't starve. We struggled with this bill or that bill. We survived a broken heater, need for a new garage door, wrecked cars and less than desirable neighbors. Yet we were so happy.
Then we hit nirvana. We built the new house. Our dream come true. And while it wasn't perfect it was what WE wanted. Our pool. Our wallpaper choices. Our floor. Our cabinets. It was ours. We were finally getting ahead. Then just our luck. Something called the Internet caused a bunch of people who shouldn't have been rich to get rich then suddenly get poor. And our home - that we worked for - was suddenly not worth what we paid for it. We made that house a home. It was our showplace. We could barely afford it. Yet we were so happy.
Then the big move to Wisconsin. The "ghetto" house. The struggle to get our own house. The rotten job at TMTC. Your rotten job at the agency. But we landed in a nice home that we have again made ours. Then I got a new job. We started our own company. Suddenly we have all the things we dreamed of - well most of them. We have finally arrived. Like always we will make through tonight's rotten news. Because we have each other and our family. Why because we are so happy.
I am not sure that this entry went where I wanted it to, but it is a reminder of all the things we have been through and how hard we have worked and sacrificed. What WE have been through. Yet through everything one thing is constant. We were happy.
I love you sweetie. This too shall pass.
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