The act you've known for all these years

Tonight, 25 years ago, Bette tickled me until it was too late to go to work (I was working the midnight shift at the main post office in Akron). I had known her for about a year at that point, and she had been dating another guy. That hadn't been working out so far, and she had just dumped him the previous weekend. It had been about 8 months since my engagement was broken off. That night we became a couple.

We've now been a couple longer than most of our friends have had relationships. I'm not sure what that says about us. Maybe that we're too damn stubborn to let external things get in the way of our journey.

It was a rough time those first years. Both of us had issues from our past relationships that we worked through. We discovered a lot about each other. We still continue to discover each other. I think that's part of what has made this a successful relationship.

Our path together hasn't always been the easiest road to travel, and I haven't always been a good companion (being a recovering workaholic). I've learned a lot about what it means to love and be in love with someone. While I normally don't ascribe to this philosophy, Bette has helped me be a better man. And I do it for her. If I come off as a driven, well adjusted, caring person with somewhat enlightened ideals, it's all because of her.

So it's our silver anniversary. Yes, there is a very nice gift that I left for her to discover this morning. I'll find out how successful it is when I go home.