By Staff
Scot Beard
This past Thursday my wife, Erin, and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary, but unfortunately it was not the least bit romantic.
While I would have loved to put together some kind of deeply romantic day where I surprised her at work with flowers and chocolates, I was unable to do so because I was in Huntsville for my mother's surgery. Fortunately, her surgery went fine and she is doing great.
I would also have loved to take Erin to a fancy dinner at a good restaurant before returning home to snuggle in front of the fireplace until it was time to head to bed, but I couldn't because I had to cover the Franklin County Basketball Tournament.
The level of my romanticism was reduced to sending a vase full of purple tulips – her favorite color and her favorite flower – to her office before hitting Krystal – her favorite late-night fast-food joint – on my way home from the games.
While circumstances out of my control prevented me from giving Erin the anniversary I wanted to give her, it was still a very special day for me.
It completed what was probably the best year of our marriage and was hopefully the beginning of many more great years to come.
Like many couples, the first few years of our marriage were a struggle.
The first three years had the typical ups and downs you would expect from two people who were still in college and trying to establish their careers – money was tight and quality time together was highly limited.
Due to limited space I will not get into all the problems this caused, but I will say they nearly ended our marriage.
We toughed it out and the fourth year of our marriage was great. We accomplished several of our goals and our relationship is stronger than it was when we got married.
While the last four years has had its ups and downs, there has not been a four-year period of my life in which I have been happier and I can only thank Erin for that.
She believed in me, and my abilities, when nobody else did – including myself.
She has been my greatest cheerleader and would not allow me watch my dreams to slip away. Had it not been for her encouragement I would probably still be working a dead-end retail job instead of doing something I love.
She has also made me a much better person than I was before I met her.
Best of all, she has put up with my knuckle-headed ways for four years of marriage – and two years of dating – without killing me. I assure you, that is not an easy task.
So while I did not get to be overly romantic on our anniversary, I am hoping to make up for it now.
I want to dedicate this column to my wife so the world can know what kind of wonderful person I have been blessed to have in my life.
I love you Erin and I hope we have many more wonderful years together.