Last Saturday I wasn’t feeling the best, in fact I was sick. I did go to work and do the Coaches Show in the morning and then went home. The night before we received five inches of snow and I hadn’t snowblowed the driveway or sidewalks yet. When I got home from work Saturday morning my lovely wife said that she would do the snow blowing. I told her I can do it and she said “You’re sick and look like crap, you’re not blowing snow!” That ended that discussion!

So she bundles herself up and heads out to face the minus 30 degree wind-chill. She has snowblowed a few times, but I don’t recall it ever being that cold before. As I watched her from the picture window in the comfort of my warm home, I was reminded just how lucky I am to have her. She does so much for me, and she does a great job blowing snow. She actually likes to blow snow which surprises me.

She is an amazing woman. I have known her for 47 years, and we have been married for 42 years. Roxie and I have been talking about our life together lately and the longevity of our friendship and marriage. 42 years is a long time. But! A couple that we know in Madison, Francis and Jeane Buer have been married I think for 72 years and this past week Jeane passed away. Francis will be 100 years old this March. 72 years of marriage! Just think of all the time they have spent together and what they have experienced in life. Amazing. When I think of them all I do is smile. That is a love story, what a life they had together.

I did some Googling and found a couple of interesting facts about being married for over 70 years. According to David Drozd a census guru, few married couples make it to their 70th anniversary, in 2011, 39% couples had been married for 25 years and 7% had made it to 50 years and only 0.01% make it to 70 years. Currently the longest marriage in the United States belongs to a couple from James City, NC at 86 years. So we have a way to go.

Roxie and I know each other so well, we sometimes can finish each others sentences. What is scary is that we can just look at each other and know what the other person is thinking. I don’t know how many times we both come home from work and say, hey lets have DeToys chicken or go to the After Five or PK’s tonight. She always tells me, I was thinking the same thing. I still can’t figure out how two people can get along so well, but yet are so different. I am an extrovert, she is an introvert. I love sports, she doesn’t, and the list goes on.

She is my rock! I can trust her with my life. She is always there for me. Even when I am sick and sacrifices herself to go and snowblow in below zero weather. It is her birthday on Thursday and I was thinking of just writing her a long love letter. Not typed, but hand written. A love letter and a red rose sounds good to me and maybe a pizza. She will be surprised. Oh, I just remembered she edits my blog and is the first to read it. So look forward to getting a love letter, rose and pizza Thursday for your birthday dear. Love you always!