Nineteen years ago...

Nineteen years ago today, on a crisp Saturday morning in Scarsdale, NY, Valorie Lynne Holden and Lawrence William Osterman were married.

I find it astonishing when I realize that it has been nineteen years that we've been married, in all honesty, it doesn't seem like it's been nearly that long.

Valorie truly is my other half (in truth, she does far more her share).  She's there when I'm sick, she's there whenever I need her.  She schleps the kids around all the time, without complaint, keeps the household running, etc (all the stuff that I should do but don't). 

All the while maintaining a full course load in her quest to get the stupid piece of paper that will finally let her get a job as a teacher (July!).

Valorie also doesn't like it when I make a public fuss over her, but on our anniversary, I honestly don't care - we have a very long history of excruciatingly painful public embarrassments of each other, starting way back in 1985 when I hired a madrigal singer to serenade her in one of her classes (and escalating from there - the last time was when Valorie had me arrested at a group meeting back on our 10th anniversary), consider this post as another step in the progression :)

You stay together with someone for 24 years and you also develop your own little traditions - we stopped giving each presents for our anniversary many years ago (it got to be a bit much with xmas, our anniversary, my birthday and valentines day in a 6 week period), instead we have "the card hunt".  I started it about 12 years ago or so on Valorie's birthday - instead of taping her cards to her presents, I hid the cards throughout the house.  Her "challenge" was to find the cards.  We've expanded the game to all "card giving" opportunities, so we're doing the card hunt thingy for our anniversary, birthdays, Mother's Day, Father's Day, etc.  Even the kids have gotten into the act, they want card hunts on their birthday's too :).It's a smidge of a challenge at this point trying to find new places to hide the cards where they'll be discoverable (there's no point in hiding cards where the recipient can't find them), but what the heck.

I love you dear, Happy Anniversary.

Btw, the cards shouldn't be too hard to find this year, they're all in plain sight :)