To My Husband. The Daffodils Are Ready to Bloom.

36 years ago today I met my husband. 36 years! A lifetime! And a lifetime filled with joy and support and happiness. He makes me happy.

Who knew when I woke up that morning so long ago I was to find the love of my life. I don't remember the day, how it went. I'm sure I was in class at UCLA. That evening I remember saying to my roommate, " I'm gonna find a boyfriend tonight." I went to a local bar. He picked me up and I picked him up. Oh, gosh! he was SO cute! Beyond the pale. I went home with him. (My roommate was worried and gave me a quarter. You know, for a phone call. The cost of a phone call had recently gone up. We didn't have cell phones all those long years ago.)

I took him to breakfast the next morning along with his best friend Arthur. He got a parking ticket in Westwood he never paid. We have it framed in our office. My roommate told me he'd never call me because I'd paid for breakfast. (Sexism was the norm in 1976.) Well, he did call. We became great friends. We became lovers. We became two people alone who could not live without the other.

I celebrate the man who became my husband in 1994. Yes.. we lived together for near 17 years before we got married. The two of us were uninterested in society's idea of commitment. "We don't need no piece of paper from the city hall keeping us tried and true." But, ultimately, reality sets in and life becomes easier for two people trying to make a life together to be married. We saw that and got married in 1994. We've now been married almost as long as we "lived in sin." LOL

It never mattered to the two of us. We were finally just looking at easier ways of taking care of each other.

My dad was so happy too. Phil was no longer "our friend," he became "my son-in-law" and part of his protected family. So weird what a piece of paper will do. Although I've kept my maiden name, my parents always insisted on calling me Mrs. Hilow. Kinda funny. Kinda cute. Kinda wrong. Though I use it myself when it helps me navigate the health care system.

Feel free to call me Mrs. Hilow. I am. It is fine. I don't care what you call me. But I'm not changing my legal name for anyone. Not even for you, my darling man!

My Eyenee. Happy Anniversary of our very first meeting! I love you! I think the daffodils are ready to bloom! Look at the kitchen table.

xoxo.