I apologize to my billions of readers all over the universe, for my lack of composition this summer. I've let you down, and I have no doubt you've all been wandering listlessly through the summer, unguided by my insight, like a throng of honeybees whose hive has vanished. I don't have an excuse. Well, I have a
bunch of excuses, but I'm so wracked with guilt that each excuse I conjure up seems such a paltry exoneration, I can't summon the will to type it. However, I
couldn't let this occasion pass without acknowledgement.
Today is our 14 year anniversary! I can't believe it . What an awesome girl I married. We've had such an incredible life so far! A really out of the ordinary journey, some might say. We had 7 super fun years together before adding these 3 little souls to the tribe, and as they say - you don't really experience life until you have kids. I think that's true.
When we got married, I know it sounds sappy, but I felt like the luckiest man on Earth. I really had no idea how lucky I was. It's hard to write about because I'm sitting here trying to think of appropriate words to convey how much happiness and growth Sara has brought me, but it's impossible! In short, I believe that Sara is some sort of super-human.
Sara is an alpha-female, in a quiet way. You don't want to mess with her, believe me. I've tried. Just ask the jackasses on the Good Ol' Boy Network known as the New Hanover educational system. Sara single handedly called to task the New Hanover Board of Education. She stood at a podium in front of them all and called them out, each of them sitting there with their brand new iPad 2, while the Special Needs kids in New Hanover county have less and less services due to the overnight "disappearance" of $2.4 million! What the hell? Sara was the only one who even raised the question, "What happened to the money?!" They figure most parents of kids with autism or other disability are way too bogged down, frazzled and drained to do any research. They're right about that. Most parents aren't like Sara, staying up all night many nights a week, trying to decipher the best path to take with Gavin. Calculating the most effective use of these critical developmental years. Often times I've risen at 4 a.m. to start a pot of coffee, and Sara is in the kitchen just finishing the lunches for the boys after another all-nighter doing research on autism, or working on Snugfits, or folding laundry, or planning meals for the week….
Speaking of lunches, another bit of evidence on why I think Sara is beyond-human, is the lunch boxes she packs for Gavin and Garrett. You've got to see these things! They're like something straight out of a magazine. The boiled eggs are formed into little shapes like fish, cars or bears. The sandwiches are neatly pressed in a "crust eliminator" thingy that makes them look like some appetizer at an upscale Parisian bistro. The meat and cheese for the crackers is always cut into little stars or flower shapes with a cookie cutter. Its unbelievable. The cupcakes are always decorated with faces or designs which could make the cover of any magazine. And it's all done with no food dyes or preservatives: Feingold Diet! I keep telling her she's got to photograph these lunches before the boys destroy them at school. Photography isn't on the agenda at 2 a.m. understandably. Maybe I could get my lazy butt out of bed earlier and do a photoshoot for her, I really want her to post some pics of these lunches on the blog. Case in point: friday night we went to dinner with our good friends and their 2 girls, all the kids recognized another patron at an adjecent table as one of the second grade teachers' assistants. After a warm greeting with multiple hugs and high fives (it's funny how kids get so excited to see their teachers out in public, isn't it?) she stood up and addressed our table. "Okay," she said,"I've got to know which one of you parents is the one who makes Gavin and Garrett's lunches everyday. How in the world do you make all of those cute little shapes and designs? Its like opening a work of art everyday for me. I look forward to it just as much as
they do!" Sara just blushed and said thanks. She didn't reveal any secrets.
Furthermore, the highlight of my boys' school day has got to be reading the note Sara packs in there everyday. It's a cute little joke or riddle of the day, then she adds a thoughtful insight about something fun they'll do that day or something she remembers about them from babyhood. Its just a sweet little reminder for them about how much she loves them, but I'm sure it helps them plow through the stresses of Kindergarten and Second Grade. Now, does anyone out there need any more evidence that my wife is the most brilliant woman on Earth?
So, what do we have planned to mark our 14th year of holy matrimony? Same thing we do every Sunday. We're getting bagels at the bagel joint, going down to the beach where our boys will roll in the sand, Sara will lounge on her bright yellow chair like the beach goddess she is, and I will rip up some tasty waves with my board like the Izzy Paskowitz I wish I could be. Okay, by "
rip up", I mean trying not to
drown whilst surfing, and hopefully not tearing the new beach shorts Sara got me. Hey, at least I
look cool when I'm carrying my board to the water! Cowabunga. Then tonight, we'll hit the local fish joint where kids eat free on Sunday, Bloody Marys are 2 bucks, and the fish is fried so deeply it could qualify as a finalist in the
dessert category at the state fair. It's a
classic!
