Ten years ago, on February 14th, Ana and I started making our way out of Los Angeles after a day of business meetings, intending to celebrate valentines day in Las Vegas. The weather was acting up, and as happens when any manner of thing touches a Los Angeles freeway, traffic became a problem. When I refer to traffic being a problem in Los Angeles, I’m not talking about delays measured in seconds or even minutes. That day it took us eight hours to get out of the greater Los Angeles area and onto the I15 heading north to Las Vegas. From there, the usual drive time of three and a half hours took five before we hit Sin City.
Valentine’s day was all but done when we got there, and so were we, so we decided to celebrate on the 15th instead. The next night we got dressed, went out and had dinner at a Vegas hot spot, and afterwards, in a quaint little nearby lounge, I took a knee and asked Ana to marry me. She smiled one of those beautiful smiles of hers and said yes.
Since then, we have celebrated our engagement every February 15th and reserve the 14th for loving on our kids.
We moved to Florida last August/September, and to be dead honest, life has been about helping the kids adjust to all the changes and getting our feet underneath us and less about us as a couple. It was a sound investment, but you can only put romance and your marriage on the back burner for so long before you feel lost and lonely in your own home.
So last night, we put on something other than gym clothes, left the kids with Aunt Elaine, and went out to dinner. I picked a nice spot a couple of cities away. We talked as we drove. But it wasn’t about business, kids, or problems. We talked about things we would have talked about ten years ago and it was incredible.
The drive was over way too soon. We weren’t ready to sit across from each other in a busy restaurant, we just wanted to be close. So we strolled along holding hands, like lovers, and shared our hearts and laughter as we soaked in the serenity of a beautiful Florida evening. For a time, our world ceased to exist. I got lost in her smile, her rich and silky voice, and those exotic brown eyes that have me addicted. She chose a simpler place to eat where the salads looked unique, and she assured me would taste good. It was a contemporary hippie kind of place, her kind of spot. It was devoid of cowboys and construction workers and any type of gravy, but I wanted to enjoy it with her, and I did.
My salad was terrific.
Eventually, it was time to drive home, but I never wanted the night to end. We talked about our life together, things we wish we could do more of, and things we can do better. And I told her how I felt about her and why. She shared the same about me. We didn’t try to defend our positions, or be right and win an argument. We talked about the good we see in our life and each other rather than shortcomings. We talked to, and about, each other the way God teaches us to do and soon the problems we had a couple hours before started to fade under the gentle light of understanding, kindness and forgiving. We soon realized that the time spent focussing on our family didn’t diminish what we have in each other.
I love, appreciate, and admire Ana Tigre. I thank God for her every night before I go to sleep and every morning when I wake. That will never change.
But last night I fell in love with her all over again.
