Remember When...

I'll warn you now--I'm going to get a wee bit sappy today. Oh, who am I kidding? I'm going to get a lot sappy because today is SUCH a special day to me. You see, today is my 20th wedding anniversary. Not only that, it's also my son's 16th birthday (and no, I hadn't planned to spend my 4th anniversary in L&D. That was a total surprise!).

So what have I been doing these last few days? Thinking, remembering, and, to be honest, being a little sad that time has passed so quickly. Has it really been 20 years? (And am I ready to put my child behind the wheel alone? Ack! LOL)

I remember when I stepped outside of the house (we had an outdoor wedding) to make the walk down the aisle to the lake where we said our vows. I remember the gorgeous day. We all know September weather can be iffy but after non-stop days of 90 degree weather, high humidity--and rain--the Saturday of our wedding dawned bright and sunny, breezy, with temps in the low 70s. Everything was so fresh and green and vivid. I remember when I said my vows, when my nephew squealed into the driveway (late as always), and my shock when, instead of the photographer we had talked to, another roared in on a Harley. Apparently he wanted to combine business with pleasure and take a ride. LOL

Four years later, I remember going to the midwife the day before my anniversary for a checkup. She said something along the lines of 'not long now' but since I was still over three weeks away from my due date I left thinking I would spend more hot, hot days packing around a baby who thought my insides were his personal gymboree.

You see where I'm going with this, right? LOL Yeah, it was the calm before the storm. After 2 pregnancies I've been told I have quick babies--and if I learned nothing with my son's birth, it was that he once he makes his mind up, there's no stopping him. Long story short, our son was born just before midnight the night of our fourth wedding anniversary. He made for a pretty special present, no?

I can't believe 16 years have passed. I can't believe 20 years have passed! Where did it go? I remember when I prayed for my son to sleep through the night. I remember when we brought our daughter home from the hospital 2 years later and SHE slept through the night before my son. I remember his first steps. His first day of school. Oh, that nearly broke my heart. I'd never seen my husband cry but when we put our son on the school bus looking so terrified and pale and little, our brave smiles faded the moment the bus pulled away and we leaned on each other and cried the entire walk back to the house. Then, I remember how we jumped in the car and raced to the school to watch him get off the bus anyway (because the teacher had told us she'd prefer parents not come into the classroom because it made first days all that much harder.) My husband snuck into the school and when he came back, his eyes still blood-shot, he reported that we were the only ones crying, not our brave little boy.

In the last 20 years my husband and I have had our share of ups and downs. We've cared for sick parents, buried loved ones, made new friends and slowly drifted apart from old ones. We've faced financial issues and stacks of bills, and had fights that seemed to come out of nowhere. But through it all the one thing that has remained constant is the fact that when times get tough we know, without a doubt, we can depend on each other. In twenty years, that hasn't faltered and I pray to God it never does. That's the key, isn't it? That trust? I believe it is. And it's a big part of why I write romance, because I believe in the power of love and trust and the bond that forms when two people share the same goal of making a sometimes rocky relationship work.

Well, if the above wasn't enough today is special for another reason. After an 18 month span between books, I'm celebrating the release of THE SHERIFF'S DAUGHTER, the first in a four book series that will be on shelves September, October, November (2011) and January, 2012. Yeah, I'm a little bit excited, and I hope you'll help me celebrate as well by spreading the news.

I'll pick a name from those who post a comment below. The winner will receive an autographed copy of THE SHERIFF'S DAUGHTER, and a copy of MONTANA SKIES (the book in which my heroine, Carly Taggert, first appeared). What do you have to do?

Too often we focus on all the bad stuff going on. All you have to do is tell me something you have to celebrate and be thankful for this week. Me? I'm thankful for 20 years, a loving husband and two teenagers who are slowly making me gray. ;) Here's to a lot more years--and gray hairs--to come. *cheers* (I promised cyber-cake to a few friends so help yourself! It's a delicious Coldstone Creamery Reese Cup Cake. YUM! Eat all you want. It's calorie-free today!) What are we celebrating with you???

Kay

Kay Stockham

www.kaystockham.com

THE SHERIFF'S DAUGHTER, SEP 2011

IN THE RANCHER'S FOOTSTEPS, OCT 2011

CHRISTMAS IN MONTANA, NOV 2011

A HERO IN THE MAKING, JAN 2012