Up the Sunbeam

-- He looked like he'd stepped off the pages of Sports Illustrated and had a name to match--Tony Friday. He was lean and strong and every bit of "tall, dark and handsome." He loved His Momma and he gallantly opened doors for me. He made me laugh out loud and made me think deeply. He could hold a note forEVER and suddenly make characters spring to life with no warning. He was a big kid and he was a Bible scholar. He made me feel both completely safe and wildly vulnerable. He was everything I wanted, and wonder of wonders, he wanted ME! Me . . . the girl who had never had a boyfriend before him. Me . . . the girl who was 22 years old before she got her first kiss . . . and he gave it to her. Me . . . the girl who had always felt on the outside looking in when it came to love. Me . . . the girl who never thought she measured up to the brand of beauty the world required. Me . . . he wanted . . . me. Oh! He is nothing but a gift!  He is living, breathing, power...

-- "That day, she was amazed to discover that when he was saying 'As you wish', what he meant was, 'I love you.'" Quote from the movie The Princess Bride My Valentine is not the sentimental type. Our connection has never been about mushy nicknames or characterized by pink hearts and chubby cherubs. Not sentimental, no, but Hero Husband is very sensitive in his own way--he puts his feelings into action and I am SO thankful. To my Valentine, my Hero Husband, on Valentine's Day: You are the one who . . . . . . doesn't throw away my boxes of sentimental keepsakes ONLY because you love me . . . . . . secretly goes and washes my car because you heard me say I wished I could . . . . . . bought steaks for our Valentine dinner because I love them (you'd prefer chicken) . . . . . . makes an effort to understand me, even when you're sure I'm making no sense . . . . . . hands me the remote control so I can watch my bull riding . . ....