Less Than a Week Now

In less than a week we will be officially moved out of Wisconsin and into the fine city of Chicago. Nearly 23 years after I promised to get you back home, I am finally doing so. I may be slow, but I always find a way to get you the things you really want in life.

I can remember how hard the decision to move from Texas was for us. We have that fine story about meeting people in Cabo and deciding to move on our own, but in reality it was a huge step for us. Nearly 8 years later, we are off again. This time it is just the two of us, but I gather that those little girls will find plenty of time to spend with us in our new home(s).

By my count we have lived in Wisconsin for 2,888 days, roughly 35% of our marriage. We have been in this house for 2,539 days. No matter how you look at it, we have spent a considerable portion of our lives and the girls personal development in Wisconsin. So no matter how excited I am about the move, I will be a bit sad to leave such an important chapter in our history together.

So because I have not done a Top 10 List in a long time, I figured I would do one for our time in Wisconsin and illuminate some of the memories we have created while we lived in the fine state.

10) The time that we spent on the back patio at the "ghetto house" with our good friends. We burned virtually everything in sight trying to stay warm. We even finally opted to give our good friend the cross she so desperately needed at the time.

9) Proms - both of our amazing daughters looked heavenly. They stood out from the crowd and these are memories we will never forget. Part of their coming of age so to speak.

8) Snow, snow, snow....by my count we likely saw over 600 inches of snow (did some research on this). That is 50 feet! I love the pictures of the girls first "snow" play, them learning to snowboard, how cool you look in gloves, a scarf and sunglasses, and frankly it is just darned pretty. I learned to love the cold as much as the warm.

7) Graduation celebrations galore. Parties our families will remember forever and I think our girls will be hard pressed to top for their own kids. No worries though, they have you to help out.

6) Sing Star baby. Countless hours of drunken singing. We dragged family, friends and kids into the mix. In the end we even found out that we can do it all by ourselves and still have a great time. Best sing star moments include, "oh my god we rocked rocket Man!", constant defeats at your hands on "Creep", singing "everybody wants to rule the world" with my baby and the introduction of fake instruments.

5) Living in one city and working in another. Mostly I remember how well you adapted, maintained and ensured the family remained as normal as possible.

4) Our "local" bar. we have really made our mark on the Centennial. We were officially regulars without being drunks. Lots of fun debates, arguments and silly stories.

3) The introduction of the Kayak. "Did they move Mcdonalds?"

2) The shuffle. It remains a top ten parental moment of all time across all parents. I recant that. It is top 3 - from any parent anywhere. It is on film, it is hilarious and it is why our girls worship their mother. Your sense of humor permeates all of us.

1) Really this one is a combination. While we ha da very short rough patch, the time we spent in WI are some of the best years of our marriage. We made it without and extended family to lean on. we grew closer all the time. Our family unit became a very tight unit who relies on each other for support and love. We grew so much as people. As a couple. As a family. These have been a great nearly 3,000 days.

Now off to start writing the next chapter. While I have so many things to look back on, you always give me so many things to look forward to every ay.

You're the world to me. I love you more than anything in the world.