The Saint

I met my soul mate 15 years ago, at a hole in the wall bar on the North side of town.

I was 19 and had a boyfriend who sometimes ran sound for a local metal band, Sindrone. One night I went with him to check out the music and that's where I met him. He was the rhythm guitarist and he kicked ass on his Dean Flying V, the model that Dimebag Darrell shredded on.

I sat in the very back and watched in amazement that we had local talent like that. Those of you who were lucky enough to have your faces melted by Sindrone before the band split, know how incredible they were. After the gig, my then boyfriend introduced me to the band and they became my friends too over time. I always thought that rhythm guitarist was intriguing and mysterious. His name was (is) Aaron and I always kinda had a thing for him. I even kept one of his picks from an especially epic night.

Fast forward through a really tough and intense five years, I found myself picking up the pieces of my broken heart from relationships that were never quite right. Then one evening I decided to go to one of Aaron's gigs and with the matchmaking skills of his best friend Tim and his wife Sheri, he asked me out to dinner. Honestly, I was actually quite shocked at first, I doubted his interest was genuine and thought he was doing it to be nice, after all we were friends and he saw what I had gone through.

So to prove me wrong, instead of taking me out, for our first date, he picked me up from work with flowers and my favorite wine and brought me to his place where he cooked and served me the most amazing dinner. Being a musician, the house was always filled with music (and still is). We took turns playing our favorite songs, sharing stories of the first time we saw a particular band in concert, or what we were doing the first time we heard certain songs. We just spent hours sharing and jamming out. I got see a different side of Aaron that evening and I knew after that first date that he was an exceptional human being. Aaron is, to put it simply, the best person you will ever meet.

Now we've been together for 10 years, married for almost 9 and our marriage is the most beautiful relationship I've ever experienced. He is the best thing that has ever happened to me. His love is unmeasurable. His heart, his values and beliefs, his unconditional support and encouragement is beyond explanation. He is a wonderful person, a loyal friend, animal lover, grill master and salsa maker. There is nothing he can't do. I could write about Aaron for days.

But the long point of this post is to remind myself of how far we've come and how special he is. To take a look back in time and see the path we've carved together. To fully remember the big and small moments that make up the fiber of our marriage which has carried us through 10 years. No matter what life has thrown at us, we have and will continue to face it side by side. He's taught me how to be the best version of myself, to love and to honor. He brings out the best in me and pushes me to new heights all the time. He knows me, all of me, accepts all of me, and is still in love with all of me and shows me every day. I trust him with all of me and that's the kind of love I wish for everyone. The real deal. I don't know how I got so lucky to be his wife but it's by far my favorite role on Earth.

Thank you Aaron for the best decade of my entire life and here's to ten more! Thank you for being such a saint. I love to you death and beyond Cat Daddy!