My Husband said I Should Title This - I HIT THE JACKPOT

Twenty years ago I sat across from this cute younger man at Muddy Waters coffee shop. I asked for a small hot chocolate and he ordered me a medium. We played Battleship and I wholloped him and he didn't seem to mind. Towards the end of our time together he told me he liked me. I told him I needed to think about it. I wondered, Do I really like him or do I just like that he likes me? As we left I headed out the door one direction and he another. He says when I looked back he knew right then She likes me, she just doesn't know it yet.

Now he likes to tell people he was clueless and persistent (I would take a month to email him back). I would add a tad overconfident; I found out after we were engaged he thought I only checked my email once a month. The hot cocoa told me he is generous, the game showed me his is confident, and the persistence paid off.

Fast forward twenty years and he is still spoiling me, pursuing me and always willing to keep learning and figuring things out together. We've been in counseling for about 6 months(?) of my sabbatical and even though I say it is for us he mostly listens while I talk and cry and unburden my heart. But he shows up and is willing to learn the secrets to a healthier marriage and life right alongside me.

He wasn't the first guy I had dated, but I plan on him being the last. And we are still having so much fun together! 20 years ago was hot chocolate, today it was a snowy hike in the woods followed by a flight of pancakes at Snooze. I can't wait to see what 20 more years brings. Happy Like-A-Versary, hon!