A Tribute to the One Who Wows Me

It was a rainy fall morning when the leaves where swirling in a vibrant splash of colors to the ground.  It could have been a day like any other day except for one thing, a very excited girl dressed head-to-toe in white was holding onto her daddy’s arm and about to walk down a long aisle into another man’s arms.


It was September 25, 2005, my wedding day.


As I walked in a dream-like haze towards the kindest and most handsome man I had ever laid eyes on, I had no idea what was to come.  I had no idea that marriage and life could be so hard.  But I also never imagined it would be so good.

Bob Cole, you have been just the man I was waiting for.  The kind of man that married my Barbies and swept them off their feet.  The kind of daddy to my children that my own dad was; a dad that gave us airplane rides through the living room and left little presents under our pillow when we were sick.  You have been exactly what I thought you were and exactly what I never expected.  


You keep me guessing at all the amazing ways you will show me your covenant-kind of love;  the way you helped with EVERYTHING (kids, meals, dishes…after working ALL day) and held me as you prayed for me every night for the two years I struggled with chronic pain, the little surprises like flowers being delivered for my un-birthday, the way you always kiss me passionately and look me in the eye (in spite of four little excited monkeys hanging off you), asking, “How was your day?” when you walk in the door.


Only you could make me feel sexy when I’m in sweats covered with kid-prints (paint, spit-up and food) and my hair in a messy ponytail.  Only you would never tire of editing my run-on sentences and crazy English in my blogs at 1 a.m. (which is why this one probably will have some errors!).  Only you could make McDonalds seem like Six Flags when times are tough.  Only you get me on those days that I don’t get myself.

What has surprised me the most is the way the birth of each of our children has revealed a side of you I never knew and I find my love for you blossoms as each child grows.  The moment you held our firstborn son and your eyes filled with tears, I thought that would be my most precious memory.

But that has been just one of many priceless moments that reveal the power of your love for our family.  It’s the times you clasp your giant hand on our boy’s boney shoulders and tell them you are proud of them, just because they are your sons.  It’s the way your eyes light up when it’s time to rock our oldest daughter to sleep because you love that special time you have with her (and she loves it too as she will cross her arms and stand in your chair, saying, “Dadda!” if you ever have to work late!).  It’s the gentle way you snuggle our baby on your shoulder and order me (with a twinkle in your eye) to escape or rest while you take over.  It’s all the ways you love each one of us, no matter how exhausted you may feel or how much work is waiting for you at the office.  You take the time to show you care.

This is just a few of the thousands of reasons that you can still make my heart skip a beat and you can still make me melt into a puddle when you give me the look.

This is why I look forward to saying Happy Valentine’s Day to you for the next fifty years.  This is why I don’t mind getting wrinkles and some gray hair if it means I can wake up next to you when I’m eighty years old.


So Happy Valentine’s Day to you, Bob Cole.  Love, your very lucky lady