Gift

I wanted to document some memories of our first anniversary so I can look back at them in a few years. Duke took me horseback riding on the beach on Sunday! I love, love, love horses. I have loved them for as long as I can remember. So, you can imagine how excited I was when Duke told me we were riding on the beach! I had never ridden on the beach before, but it is something I have always wanted to do! So, we got in the car, ate a yummy lunch in Coronado, then headed to San Diego! The barn was actually right on the US border. It was kind of crazy. We were probably two football fields from the fence and there were border control officers everywhere. All the horses at the barn were so cute. I rode a horse named Grace.

The ride was soooo much fun! It was the such a great gift. Well, we had plans to go to dinner and a movie last night, so I made sure that I was ready to go when Duke got off work. I had made him brownies and had gotten him two little gifts and a card. Well, you can imagine his surprise when he walked through the door and realized he hadn't gotten me a card. Haha. (Oh my gosh, he would be so mad if he knew I told somebody. Haha.) I really do not care that he did not get me a card. I feel like horseback riding on the beach pretty much took the cake. I don't really get upset about a lot of things, and Duke has always never really had a clue when it comes to things like this. Most men don't. Haha. Well, we went out to dinner, and we were sitting at the table and I saw a brochure for a charity called, "Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation." This is some info from their website.

"Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) emerged from the front yard lemonade stand of cancer patient Alexandra “Alex” Scott (1996-2004). In 2000, 4-year-old Alex announced that she wanted to hold a lemonade stand to raise money to help find a cure for all children with cancer. Since Alex held that first stand, the Foundation bearing her name has evolved into a national fundraising movement, complete with thousands of supporters across the country carrying on her legacy of hope."

Now, I have always tried to donate little amounts of money here and there to St. Jude's, so I was excited to learn about Alex's Lemonade Stand. Cancer is one of the worst things about human life. The prospect of getting cancer, the people that are affected, and the affects that fighting it has on your body. Everyone knows someone affected by cancer, but I cannot, I cannot imagine having a child that was going through cancer. So, I told Duke that I would much rather him donate money to a foundation like this than to get me a card. The whole point of getting a card is that you can put it in a box later for your children and grandchildren to see. Well, this is something better. Something you just can't put in a box. Something more. I believe that in life, you get what you give. I know how Duke feels about me, and I'd rather have that warm feeling of giving in my heart than a greeting card any day. So, every year on our anniversary, I want to donate money to some sort of charity; which is the best gift of all.

Learn more about Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation here.

One Year

One year ago today, I got married to the most amazing man. It's been a crazy and wonderful year. One deployment, a cross country move, and some yucky meals later, here we are. It's crazy how things change. How we met ten years ago. How it took about eight-and-a-half years for "us" to actually work out. I mean, we have seriously been through it all...or it seems like it anyway. But now that we've been through so much, marriage has actually seemed pretty easy. So far. I'm with a guy that I trust 100% (obviously, or we wouldn't have gotten married! Haha). I still get excited everyday when he walks through the door. I love that he loves "all those quirky little things about me." Weird things. Like my OCD cleaning habits and my crazy addiction to antique shopping. It's funny how two years ago we weren't even on speaking terms. Yup. It's true. You wanna know what changed that? A mutual friend was injured in Iraq. Bad. Hearing the news was awful. But worse than that, was knowing that it could have been Duke. Sure, that's absolutely selfish. But I'm an honest person. Obviously, I never would want anyone to experience that. I know of way too many military widows and wounded troops. People always say that the person you should marry is the one person you absolutely cannot live without. Well, I knew without a doubt that I could not live without Duke. And I knew right then that things had to change. Duke had screwed up big time. We all do. Heck, I've screwed up a million times. That's what makes us human. He had been trying to call me for months and I ignored him. I was basically being a big baby and holding a grudge, which I seemed to do better than anyone. But, then I realized that there is nothing that Duke could ever do that would make me want to live without him. Life is short. Too short. And that was when I knew. I picked up the phone right then and called him. I love him more than anything. It was basically written in the stars for us to be together all along. We just had to grow up. That's what happens when you meet the love of your life in the ninth grade. And for all the people that thought we would never make it...guess what? We did. And we will.

P.S. I don't hold grudges anymore. That's not who I want to be. And life is just too short.