Happy Birthday, Best Friend

Dearest,

I just want to wish you a very Happy Birthday. You have been the love of my life for close to 36 years. I remember meeting you in March of 1972. You were one of the cutest guys there at the LDS Institute. I remember every evening after Sacrament that you would come and talk to me and how thrilled I felt when I would see you heading over to my part of the foyer. I remember clearly when you came in one day and asked if the seat next to me was saved, and I said, "for you."

I remember the one evening when your friend, "Paco" was telling us about a movie he had just seen. We were standing in the parking lot near my car, and I was a bit cold, so you put your arm around me. I didn't care if Paco told us the whole movie, just as long as you would keep your arm around me.

I guess we can say "the rest is history" and I am glad that history included both of us. You have been such a sweet husband and friend. I have loved the adventures life has led us through.

We started by living in a college town as we had our first child, and you finished your degree. Then moving to the farm. It was fun to raise goats, chickens, our flock of sheep and our kids. It was fun to have your folks across the street. It was a great place to raise children and I think they all loved it as well. Of course the Lord blessed us with a job at the Power Plant 20 miles away to support the farming "hobby". Then when the Power Plant closed down and we moved away, selling that farm with the beautiful 360 degree view.

The next place was cold, but we had a great adventure there for the 1 1/2 years we lived there. When that Power Plant looked shaky, we applied for and moved to another Power Plant in the next state. This is where we have stayed for 22 years now, raising our children. You have always made my life so fun. I continue to look forward to you returning from home from work every night. You are not only my best friend, you are my hero. You get up every.single.working.day and head off to the plant. Your job has provided us with a wonderful home and the things we have needed to get our children raised and launched. That is the physical part, you have also attended Church with me and led our family as a righteous patriarch. Along with going to work, you have also provided us with other physical comfort and safety.

You have built the children some beds, you chopped wood for our warmth, you grow beautiful gardens and have fixed enough cars that they should give you an honorary degree in car maintenance. We have had many adventures traveling to the college towns where our children attended school and fixing their cars.

Now you build boats. We have had some fun trips launching your boats. I remember the one time we floated down the river in that row boat. That was when you decided to get or make a sail boat and is what started the boat building. We have had some fun, albeit short, trips to Lake Powell. The actual sailing of that huge boat you built is certainly a neat experience and I think I love it more than that smaller one we rode in when the wind blew us all the way across the lake. But that was an adventure too. I think too, that even though I complain about the 5-hour drive down there (I guess I wish there were more shopping stops), I really love the time we spend together whenever we drive anywhere. I love listening to books on tape or just talking.

We never run out of things to talk about and I still love the silent parts where we just drive, holding hands and feeling comfortable in each other's presence to not worry about filling the quiet moments.

We will be celebrating our 34th anniversary in a week. They have been the sweetest years of my life. Thank you for being my friend, husband, lover, provider, father to my children, grandfather and all the other things you do to keep everything running. You are the best person I could have ever chosen to spend my life and eternity with. I am glad we found each other so long ago. It's been a happy ride.

Life has been so sweet.

Happy Birthday, Sweet Friend, and may this be just the "middle point of your life". I want to keep you around for a goooooood loooooong time.

with love,

~a