Nineteen years ago...
Nineteen years ago today, on a crisp Saturday morning in Scarsdale, NY, Valorie Lynne Holden and Lawrence William Osterman were married.
I find it astonishing when I realize that it has been nineteen years that we've been married, in all honesty, it doesn't seem like it's been nearly that long.
Valorie truly is my other half (in truth, she does far more her share). She's there when I'm sick, she's there whenever I need her. She schleps the kids around all the time, without complaint, keeps the household running, etc (all the stuff that I should do but don't).
All the while maintaining a full course load in her quest to get the stupid piece of paper that will finally let her get a job as a teacher (July!).
Valorie also doesn't like it when I make a public fuss over her, but on our anniversary, I honestly don't care - we have a very long history of excruciatingly painful public embarrassments of each other, starting way back in 1985 when I hired a madrigal singer to serenade her in one of her classes (and escalating from there - the last time was when Valorie had me arrested at a group meeting back on our 10th anniversary), consider this post as another step in the progression :)
You stay together with someone for 24 years and you also develop your own little traditions - we stopped giving each presents for our anniversary many years ago (it got to be a bit much with xmas, our anniversary, my birthday and valentines day in a 6 week period), instead we have "the card hunt". I started it about 12 years ago or so on Valorie's birthday - instead of taping her cards to her presents, I hid the cards throughout the house. Her "challenge" was to find the cards. We've expanded the game to all "card giving" opportunities, so we're doing the card hunt thingy for our anniversary, birthdays, Mother's Day, Father's Day, etc. Even the kids have gotten into the act, they want card hunts on their birthday's too :).It's a smidge of a challenge at this point trying to find new places to hide the cards where they'll be discoverable (there's no point in hiding cards where the recipient can't find them), but what the heck.
I love you dear, Happy Anniversary.
Btw, the cards shouldn't be too hard to find this year, they're all in plain sight :)
Comments
- Anonymous
January 17, 2006
Heh, well somehow knowing "The Wife" from her visits to your blog on occasion I seem to get the idea it is easier for her to embarras you than you embarrasing her. Congratulations on your Anniversary though and I wish you a great many more. - Anonymous
January 17, 2006
congratulations, like they say in my town, it's been like five minutes!! (under water) hope your wife stops by and embarrases you =oP - Anonymous
January 17, 2006
She had you arrested? I hope they were actors and not real cops.
Happy anniversary.
- Drew - Anonymous
January 17, 2006
How soon did she get you on parole? :p
Or did she just leave you in prison for the night, you know, for not doing your share of the household work ;-) - Anonymous
January 17, 2006
Congrats! - Anonymous
January 17, 2006
Wow, Larry. You and Valorie got married precisely 15 days before Beth and I got married. We celebrate our 19th on Feb. 1.
Congradulations, and may you have many years together in the future.
Rick - Anonymous
January 17, 2006
Congratulations, Larry. :D
Hiring a singer to sing in her class. What a romantic idea. - Anonymous
January 17, 2006
Congratulations! - Anonymous
January 17, 2006
And Scoble's birthday. Don't forget Scoble's Birthday in your six week period. Hide some cards around one of the buildings he works in.
This might work out for a good prank... - Anonymous
January 17, 2006
Congratulations to you both! I like the madrigal singer idea. ;-) - Anonymous
January 18, 2006
The comment has been removed - Anonymous
January 20, 2006
I've read you blog a half dozen times, working up the courage to post. I am a public coward after all. Part of our agreement is that you do the public stuff and I do the private stuff though through the years, we've worked on strengthening each other.
Well you are right, I don't like a public fuss, but I'll excuse you. After all, next year will be my turn....
I think the scary thing for me is that we've known each other for more than half our lives. It didn't seem nearly so scary when we got married but I don't think I knew anybody at the time who had a marriage that actually lasted. I'm not sure how we figured out the right ways to bend each other to our wills, but it seems to work. Let's not go on Dr. Laura or Dr. Phil, though...
Still, we are definitely a team, contributing our strengths and buttressing each other's weaknesses in subtle ways. We may not be racing thorobreds anymore but we definitely aren't plow horses either. (See, I knew if I worked at it I could get horses in here somehow :-)) We work together to chart our course and we'd both be utterly lost without each other.
Ok, enough maudlin stuff. Next year, it's my turn, and I won't have any of this silly school stuff to distract me from planning... - Anonymous
January 17, 2008
Continuing in a stream of blog posts that started with " 18 years ago, Today ", " Nineteen years ago