So You Wanna?

"So you want to"? Those immortal words scribed for eternity would be the way I queried my then girlfriend Sonya for her hand in marriage. Mind you it was not on my knees and I did not have a 10ct ring as my proffer of love and unending devotion. But at my desk... on the phone... and at work. I am nothing if not a romantic at heart.

Her response "well, I guess". Alas, our story of courtship and vows of marriage would not ever be an entry into the annals of romance. But the point is I asked and she said yes and that's all that matters.

10 years and 4 kids later we have a love that is deeper and stronger than it was before or after. And to be fair, she is the one who has had to carry the larger portion. Because while I have a jet set life at work. She quietly carries the torch of mother and wife.

Sonya you are the grounding and the guiding force that both completes me and makes me whole. Never have I ever had a right to be as happy as I am now. There was a time when not only had I forsaken love, but also the idea that I would ever be happy.

You saved me from a life of painful loneliness and permanent despair. For without you and the love you have unabashedly given me, I would be an emotionally crippled man. Your love breathed new life into me where there were none. I love you my dear sweet and lovely wife.

I met my wife in December of '02 via my best friend Sean. The invite came in the form of an offer to stay with him and his then wife Mandy. Now to be fair the last thing I wanted to do was to pack a bag and drive 5 hours to Wyoming. I had just completed a record 300 days on the road and had just broken free from the last wife.

Broken and depressed sitting on my couch in my new apartment, I was determined to spend the next 2 weeks on my couch watching TV and doing absolutely nothing.

When Sean called to ask me to spend Christmas in WY my first response was "NO"! Sean not given to the subtleties of a firm no thank you, pressed on for a firm commitment of yes.

After several back and forth's I devised a devious plan to get him off my back and my back to my TV.

 I came at him with this. "I'll do it if you set me up on a date". Now to be fair, 3 days of Christmas I had the odds with me. Because who wants to be set up on a blind date 3 days from Christmas? As an added bonus I tossed in the obligatory case of beer wager.

10 minutes later a romance was born and 3 weeks later a marriage was consummated  And 10 years later here we are happy and more in love than the day we were married.

The day we got married is a story for another time. But today, it's our 10th year as Mr. and Mrs. Fedler.

I wish I were home to spend our 10 year anniversary with you. But know you have been in my thoughts all day. I love you Sonya.

So raise your glasses in salute to the best wife, lover and friend a husband could ever hope to find.

Happy anniversary!