The title to this post almost sounds like the start of a fairy tale. Well to be honest it was, mine. On August 23, 25 years ago I married the most wonderful man in my life. He was smart, funny, opinionated, sentimental, handsome and a romantic.
He had a good memory for things most guys tend to forget. He remembered the day we met, birthdays and our anniversaries but gift giving was always a struggle for him. First we gave him hints then we just would come right out and say what we wanted. But it rarely translated to what we got unless we purchased our own gifts, because he always thought he had a better idea.This meant a bicycle (can't ride), a frying pan (yep), a very good knife (he said mine were all crap) and a weather station. Yea, the last one is still in the box having never been opened because he was going to put the gauge up on the house. Then there were the times when he bought gifts because he thought we would like them and he put them away for the future. I found one such gift in his office when we were packing some of the stuff up. It still had the credit card receipt in the bag.
This was also the guy who was very hard to get gifts for when the time came. We asked for ideas and got lists of obscure books, guns (out of the girls money range) and tools. He also took a long time to get these lists to us. One year Sarah threatened to give him a pretty pink sweater in her size. "Dad, doesn't fit you, darn I guess I will keep it for myself." He got the biggest kick out of that comment.
As the years pass I find myself finding things I know he would have liked. Why, does this happen, who knows. I miss him even more today than ever. More happy memories come to mind when I look at pictures of him with the girls but it is still tinged with a lot of sadness. I seriously doubt it will ever get better...
