Thirty three years ago, when I fell in love with him, I was just 16. You can go ahead and do that math, but I already told you in the last blog post that I am, in fact, 49.

But he is 50. No matter though. He’s An Amazing Fifty.

Back to the story. When I fell ears over toes for this guy? I thought of love, like most 16 year old girls, as that butterfly feeling in the pit of your belly. That feeling like you’re just on the edge of puking all over the guy’s shoes when he reaches for your hand. In a good way, of course. You know the sweaty-palms-do-I-have-food-in-my-teeth-please-Lord-no thought that constantly rushes through your mind? That Just Keep Breathing In and Out and You’ll Be Just Fine Feeling.

Yeah. That one. That’s how love felt in November of 1991. When the Super Cute and Funny marching band trumpet player took this drill team girl to Chick-fil-A (boy did he know the way to my heart back then) after the football game. Also, let it be known that our Chick-fil-A was a sit down version with a waitress. So basically the song should actually be We Fancy Like Chick-fil-A.

Several years later, when we were in college, love was snail mail from Auburn University and weekend visits. Love was him scouring the Little Sisters of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity to find one who looked just a smidge like me so that I could snag that ID and sneak into the football games. Sweaty palms on those days, for sure, but for a different reason altogether.

Then, in April of 1997, love was a beat up boat. A boat filled with layers of pine straw and leaves. A gross and disgusting boat that my high school trumpet player cleaned up and fixed up. Maybe he wished for weekends next to Auburn on Lake Martin with his Kappa Sigma friends, now my friends, too. Instead, he actually sold the boat and secretly bought the biggest diamond ring he could. Getting down on one knee on my birthday. Yes, I felt the butterflies.

A few years down the road love was teamwork. The two of us digging holes and planting plants on the “biggest” job of our new landscape career after the crew didn’t show up for work and we fired them all. Wouldn’t you know it? My hands were sweaty that day, too.

Once we had kids love changed again. It became Divide and Conquer. You take these two and I’ll take these two. Saying the most romantic things like, “I’ll do bedtime while you read” and “I cleaned the kitchen and took out the trash”. I saw his love for me when he took our soccer-loving girl to Arizona for Nationals. Sending me video after video because he knew I wanted to be there, too.

Now, after 33 years of being in love with my marching band trumpet playing Kappa Sigma from Auburn University, I see his love every single day. He never says ‘no’. I’m serious. He NEVER says no. Instead he says, ‘I’ll do what I can to make that happen’. And somehow? He always does. I get butterflies when he sits next to me at the bar at our favorite restaurants and puts his hand on my knee under the counter. He knows how I have a thing for butterscotch candies and will secretly keep them in his pocket. He gets my heart all excited when he sweetly pulls a piece out saying, “I thought you might want this.”.

Yep. I’ve wanted this for 33 years.

And my palms get all sweaty again.