Happy Second Anniversary to my Wonderful Wife

It's been 2 years now of blissful marriage now and we are on the verge of starting a new chapter in our lives, one that we are very much looking forward to. We just returned from a great trip to Montreal and got that most important thing out of the way. It was a nice, and for the most part, relaxing week.

Now we have some things to do in the next few months to get ready for our next big journey. I know you are looking forward to moving to Calgary, and so am I. But mostly because I know you will be happier there. And if you are happy.. I am too.

It's going to be different that's for sure. We are used to the slow pace here in Sweet Grass. We enjoy our nice leisurely walks and the fact that we can run a tab at the local watering hole and pay it pretty much whenever we want to.
There's no traffic and no crime, but if we pick the right location in Calgary, we shouldn't have much to worry about anyway except for the traffic.

I know you get irritated with me sometimes especially where Cosmo is concerned... Like today for example. You bite your tongue and take him to the kennel because you know I will feel better knowing that someone is looking after him while we are both gone. I appreciate everything you do from the small and not so small things to show me that you care.

I can say without any hesitation whatsoever that the time I have spent with you has been the best part of my life. Even though we get on each others nerves at times and snap at each other, we have never gotten into a real argument. We just agree to disagree about certain things and leave it at that, but mostly I think we are on the same page, and both want the same things in life. Compared to some of the things I have been through before, it's a small slice of heaven.
I am glad we found each other and I look forward to spending the rest of my life with you. I never really knew what it was like to have a soulmate up until now. And you are that to me.

All I ask is that you respect me, love me, and take care of our home and kids. I will return what you give me ten times over and give you the best life I possibly can, and try not to stink up the bathroom before you use it.

Happy Anniversary!

Russ

Hang in there

I know I said this before but it's worth repeating I think. I tend to lose my temper over little things and I know that really bothers you. You know that it has nothing to do with you, even though it is directed at you sometimes. It's just a combination of the winter blues and not being able to get out of here and go somewhere that we want to be. I feel like I have let you down in some ways.

It's very important to me to be able to give you the kind of life you want. I want you to be able to join a gym, make new (female) friends and be able to do things that you want to do when you want to without having to drive an hour to do it. I want us to get back to civilization again because being here is not good for us. And I don't want you to leave because you are my life now and I couldn't imagine being without you. So if you could just hang in there, I know something good will happen for us. Besides, it won't be long that we will be able to enjoy some outdoor activities again and that will be really good for both of us.

I am going to work harder every day on the little things that matter. And try not to let the little annoyances annoy me so much. In other words, not be an asshole at times.
I know I said this before too, but all in all I think we are doing ok, we just need that change of scenery to make it closer to perfect.

I love you!
Russ

Winter Blues

Hey Babe,

I think the winter blues have set in. We know that summer is over and all the fun things we enjoy doing together are "summer things", so what does that leave us for the next 6 months?

Well, we have that trip to Texas coming up in November. Even though it's only a week it will be good for both of us to get away and gorge on Mexican food. After that, I have a few other ideas...

I know that I have been a little out of it lately, I think a lot of it is the frustration of not getting the jobs I want, and of course the change in the seasons. I can understand now why so many people up here are on anti-depressants, or are alcoholics. That's not going to happen to me.

You know what? Marriage is a tough damn road. No question about it. No matter how much two people love each other, they can still annoy the hell out of each other. But I will take those occasional annoyances over being without you any day.

In the meantime let's forget about what isn't that important, and get back to that happy place. I'll make a deal with you, if you stop putting the rat poison in my food, then you only have to give me 49% of your winnings 97% of the time.

Yes, you still complete me.

Love,
Your Husband

1 Year Down, Eternity to Go

My Dearest Sherilyn,

You weren't quite sure what you were getting into, and neither was I. That’s what I love about you. You don’t know what you’re doing half the time, you just do it. You are the only source of excitement in my life. I am continually amazed at all the things you can blame me for, or forget.. And how much I love being around you.

You and I were made for each other.

You are fun and exciting. I am boring.

You are beautiful. I am missing three of my molars.

You are friendly. I am grouchy.

You are a social butterfly. I am socially challenged.

Where I am weak, you have strength.

I love you because you are the half of me I had been missing for so very long.

One year ago, our strengths played into each other. I, being the determined, decisive, smart guy that I was, knew exactly what I wanted and went after it.
You, being the impulsive, indecisive and beautiful woman that you are, just went for it.

And it’s been like that ever since.

This last year has been the best of my life.

I love you.

Russ

At Last.. The Deed is Done.

Well our marriage went off pretty much without a hitch. We kept our cool, and nobody ran screaming out of the chapel. Although I am sure one or both of us had thought about it.

They say that getting married can be one of the most stressful things that anyone can do. Aside from getting all of your teeth pulled without anesthetic, or being thrown into a pit full of poisonous snakes, I can’t think of too many other things that would be quite as stressful.

Just standing up in front of a large group of people can be a very stressful event in and of itself. I don’t think I heard much of what the minister said, I think I was too busy concentrating on keeping my knees unlocked and staying conscious.
Sher’s hesitance to say “I Will” brought a laugh from the congregation. I think that both of us felt some degree of relief and our anxiety level went down a couple of notches. It’s one thing to love someone and make a commitment to them, but when you are up there doing it before friends and family then it can bring on a whole new set of nerves!

After the ceremony we had a nice reception at Aunt Marlene's house. Sher was so drunk she fell into the cake and got some up her nose. (wink wink)

Now it's honeymoon time. Back next week with the full details.

Well maybe not the "full" details.

Thanks to Teresa, Daysha, Maggie and Steve for being there and standing up for us. Also thanks to Gary for the video and to all those in attendance and who hosted the reception for us, we are grateful!

Today and Tommorrow

At the time of this writing the countdown to the "day" is now some 4 days and 15 hours away. I have this strange, weird and empty feeling. Kind of like you feel when you are visiting loved ones that you havent seen in a long time, then you have to go back to your empty home. Someone has slipped me a dose of reality.
Today Sher had to travel back to Lethbridge where she will remain until we are able to get her visa paperwork squared away. It took some time to get used to having someone living with me again, now I have to get used to her not being there all the time. It sucks, but it is what it is.
You know how you felt when you were a kid? You came home from the last day of school and its the start of summer vacation. Your mom had just baked a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies, and you parents told you they were taking you to Disneyland?
Thats how I feel when I'm with her.
Unfortunately things don't always work out exactly the way we plan for them to. If someone had told me a year ago I would be getting married again I would have told them they were nucking futs. This whole process of preparing for the wedding has driven us to drink heavily and consume massive amounts of food and painkillers.
But, it is something we will always remember, look back on and laugh about.
So are we ready for this? I think so.

Are we allowed to drink in Church?

A Girl, a Cat, and Two Smelly Dogs.

Why did I get married the first time?

Simply put, I married for a job… I wanted to be a Police Officer and the Department frowned on hiring single Officers because they felt that married Officers were generally more “stable” and thus better candidates for Officers.
To say my first marriage was disastrous would be an understatement. In the beginning it wasn’t so bad but as the time and years went by, I began to think I was living within the fires of hell with the devil and my wife taking turns poking me with a red hot fork.

It took some time before I was able to successfully separate myself from that situation and obtain a divorce. After a period of bachelorhood it became apparent that it was time to try again and re-enter the bonds and shackles of a real relationship.
After all, old man time was creeping up on me fast. I had to think about the day when I could no longer do things for myself, remedial tasks we take for granted everyday, like being able to change my depends.

So, I began to ask myself who would be there to assist if and when I was unable to do these things on my own? My dogs are loyal and faithful companions but lack the intelligence and dexterity to help me in that way.
It became apparent that I needed a woman in my life but living in a very small community at the end of the earth does present challenges in meeting people. I could trot on down to the local pub and pick out a nice aged, vintage toothless model.
Or I could turn to cyberspace.

Let the search begin.

If you are familiar with the online dating scene you may have been unfortunate enough to meet a few people through cyberspace, only to find out when you actually met that they had not been entirely upfront with you.

For example, the picture they used in their profile was taken when they were 20 years younger, and 300 pounds lighter.

"Oh, I put on a few pounds since that picture was taken".
No kidding? A few?

Or maybe they were in the "non-separation" type of separation phase from their possibly soon to be ex-spouse.

"Well yeah, ok, he doesn't live with me anymore, but we are still friends" and he comes over to see the kids. They need their daddy.

Right. Maybe it’s what YOU need.

Or, she had 12 more children than she originally had told you.

"Oh, I forgot to mention the children I have from my 4 ex's. But they don't live with me".

Lady, you don't have kids. You have a litter!

So I was beginning to give up and resign myself to a life of living like an 1800’s Mountain Man. I would grow a long beard, live off the land and go to town once a year to do some trading.. Mebbe even trade me some beaver pelts for a woman. Soon enough I found myself slowing down to check out the sheep grazing on the side of the road.
I knew I needed to do something, and fast.

After a series of trial and errors I finally met someone who had been truthful with me, and was extremely cute to boot.

Sher came along in 2005 and after a week or two of online conversations we felt as if the time was right to finally meet. We arranged for a meeting at our finest local one and only pub.
Since I wanted to do things right and really impress her I called ahead and made reservations for the finest dirty table in the establishment.
Sher brought along her bodyguard, Teresa.
I brought my anxiety.

It’s always awkward when you finally meet that person you had been conversing with all this time. You may not have any trouble making conversation over the internet, or telephone, but it is entirely different when you finally meet that person face to face. Uhhh.
We spent an hour or so sitting across the table from each other doing our best to make conversation, as nervous as I was, I managed to hold my own. The seventeen shots of tequila I had before I arrived probably helped somewhat. I didn’t think it was going that well.

Skip forward to the present day.

My darling Sherilyn has learned to adjust to my little quirks and mood swings and I have adjusted to hers. Of course she has many more "quirks" than I do because she is Canadian.
She has also accepted my smelly dogs which she knows are more like children to me than pets. And I have accepted that damn cat of hers.

To say I am nervous about being married again is an understatement of gigantic proportions. The wedding day is around a month away and I plan to start drinking early that morning...Or maybe now.