He cruised with the Navy
As his full time job
To ports 'round the world near and far,
While I stayed at home
And decided to which
Oceanview Beach I would drive our first car.

In between his short cruises
We muddled through life;
Never talked of a grand goal we'd meet.
He'd come home at Five
Like a typical guy.
We'd have dinner and he'd rub my feet.

With little more than a year
With the title of Mrs.
We were no longer going to be "just two".
Even though technically not planned,
It was just part of Life
That a baby would join us real soon.

Then in the first part of summer
In Seventy-Five
Just two short years after we'd wed,
We were joined by the first -
A baby girl Erin M
And Life changed just like everyone said.

We needed some space
For our family to grow
So to Inez Street we moved right along.
And while learning to adjust
To being one more than two
Fate surprised us once again with Sean.

A good job in the offing
And roof over our heads
We thought Life couldn't get any better.
Our nice little family
All cozy and warm...
Should we look for our very own shelter?

And Soap Hollow did beckon
To its tall pines and water
With a little bridge across to the house.
We adjusted quite nicely
To home ownership right there.
"I like it just fine", said my spouse.

So there we remained
For the next seven years
Nestling into the groove of our life.
The kids started school
And our garden did grow
With no major stress to cause strife.

But after a while
It became more than clear
That our lives we were simply maintaining.
In order to have
Any chances to grow
We'd have to make a tough choice on changing.

He could have said "No,
I'd much rather stay here
WHere I know all my family and friends."
But he looked to the future
Without fears or regrets
And said, "OK, Let's take a new road to the end."

As a team we all packed,
Drove to parts unexplored
To see if the grass really was much greener.
In Virginia we landed
Way south of DC
Where the air was certainly cleaner.

And for the past lots of years
We have nurtured and tried
To keep our family together and strong.
Some decisions were tougher
Than others, that's true.
But we've agreed on what's right and what's wrong.

And throughout it all
We remained as a pair
As changed continued to come.
We watched the kids growing older
And become strong on their own
And thought maybe that the hard part was done.

But it's not quite so easy
As we're now finding out
To keep life lively and fun.
The routine is common -
Every day like the other.
Now the challenge has really begun.

But we made a commitment
Those many years ago
To always be there for each other.
So I'm holding him to it,
No Ifs, Ands, or Buts
Even tho he says I'm getting more like my mother.

So as Life marches on
We'll just continue to lean
On each other for friendship and such
And if all goes as planned
(or at least it's my hope)
We'll triple our 25 years of luck.

Here's hoping he will listen
And take good care of himself.
I know sometimes I can be a drag.
But it's only because
I want him with me to the end
That I continue to bitch, moan, and nag.

With some prayers and some blessings
We'll have many more years
With good health and some time in the sun.
I look forward to travel,
To new beaches all around
And showing off his nice little buns.

I know it's so true that
I take him for granted.
And don't say "I love you" enough.
But he just has to know
After all of these years
That from me doesn't easily come mush.

But I promise to try
And improve on things now.
Maybe add in a bit of some spice.
So that some day on our porch
When we're rocking together
We'll look at each other and say "Life's been nice."





Signed    
All my love always -    
B          
(written in 1998)