Ahhhh, Romance (a man, a woman, and a boat)

Hmmmm,

I'm kind of at a loss as to what to post now, so I'll give you some romantic history. :)

Dh and I met teaching in SC.

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He was actually the first person I met, and I moved into his apartment and lived with his stuff while he was moving out. He drove tour buses in the summers and was leaving on a trip for a week, so I just lived with his junk (and dog) while he was gone. Who knew?!?

We were both in bad relationships which ended. Our first kiss was during a Hurricane Party we had at his new house. In SC, we got out of school if the word "hurricane" was even mentioned. So what do a bunch of 20-somethings do--have a party! It didn't even rain!

Anyway, that didn't last, and we were just friends for a while. We started dating again a few months later and have been together ever since.

Most of our first dates involved water skiing. Dh taught me how to ski and eventually to slalom ski (one ski). We used to go to the lake with his friend Kevin, who actually had a boat. In 1997, DH bought a ski boat that we dubbed my "engagement boat."

On March 27, 1998, after a particularly hideous week at school, we decided to play hooky and stay home on that Friday. We were going to go to the lake and ride around, but the boat wasn't running, so instead we decided to grill hot dogs and drink margaritas. While we were cooking, I was sitting in the boat, and DH came up and asked me "Do you want a real ring to go with your boat?" and he pulled out a diamond ring. Romance is not his thing, so this is as good as it gets.

 

We were married December 5, 1998 in my hometown in a big 'ol Southern style wedding. While we lived in SC, a lot of our free time was spent going from gig to gig. He played with local band as the lead guitarist. The first gig he took me to was at a lesbian bar, which was a blast!

(this is from last year at a group reunion)

We moved to GA in 2000 to be closer to his family and to raise our pay. We decided we wanted to have children in 1999. Well, that didn't happen like we planned. We went through IF treatment after IF treatment (11 IUIs and 1 IVF) only to have 2 m/c. We changed our plan and decided that adoption was a way to grow our family. In August of 2003, we finished our paperwork and sent off our dossier to Kazakhstan.

In September 2003, DH was diagnosed with germ cell cancer. With our adoption cancelled, our focus was on him. Germ Cell Cancer is a rare cancer that generally strikes men between the ages of 29-35. Dh was 34. It tends to form as testicular cancer, but DH's formed as a large tumor behind his sternum that wrapped around the Superior Vena Cava (vein that runs from your head to your heart). The only reason we caught it was that he woke up swollen and Chris Farley-looking from the neck up. He underwent chemo and was pronounced cancer free in December 2003. He was considered "cured" in 2008 (5 year mark).

(not his xray, just one I found on Google images of Germ Cell Cancer)

In December, we had the surprise of our lives when we found out I was pregnant with Porter. We got a lot of tasteless jokes that insinuated I had an affair. Some people don't know when to shut their mouths. Porter was born in August of 2004, Nolan in September of 2008, and Julianna in November 2010. Apparently we fixed whatever IF issues we had!

So, there you have it

A man, a woman, and a boat--Romance at its best! :)