Our Dam 5-Year Anniversary

My husband thinks he's lucky. He keeps calling it that (both here and here). But I'm the one who's blessed. Why? Because no other girl in high school or college was smart enough to see through that slight (oh, who are we kidding?) major nerdy-ness and skinny frame to the man he would become. Even me.

You see, Rob pursued me (still wondering why -- other than my love and knowledge of Cyclone sports) for about six months our junior year of college before he gave up and went out with someone else. For some reason, I just didn't think he was "my type." It took him dating someone else for me to finally question myself. "Why was it that I wouldn't give a relationship with him a chance?" I couldn't think of anything. 

When his relationship with the other girl ended, he called me (while I was in Disneyworld) to let me know. Fitting, today, that Disney is "the happiest place on Earth." Round two of being pursued began and this time, I didn't play hard to get. On Oct. 16, 2004, while I was in Missouri Valley, and Rob was in Ames, we decided to change our relationship status on Facebook from friends to "in a relationship with." 

I've never looked back. I guess in some relationships, you evaluate if it's working or not and proceed from there. We never did. We didn't have to. I think I was the first to say "I Love You" about three weeks into it. I just felt it and have ever since. 

Not to brag, but my 100-pounds as a high school junior husband gained some much-needed beer weight and is now a 170ish-pound snappy dresser with a heart of freaking gold. 

He's still a nerd though. As my sister pointed out to me a while ago: "Nerds make the best husbands." I don't know a lot of other nerd husbands, but I can vouch for mine. He cooks, cleans and is the best dad to Faith Janna I could ever ask for. 

He also puts up with yours truly. I don't want to make you dislike the author of this blog, but I have a short fuse, anxiety-ridden tendencies and can be a control freak (good thing I never had to fill out an online dating resume). For some reason, (other than that I can grow a pretty adorable little girl) he keeps on loving me.

Five years ago we vowed in front of God and everyone that we'd love each other no matter what. That was my lucky day. June 2, 2007. 

Beautiful weather. 

Beautiful ceremony. 

And I didn't know it at the time, but beautiful future. 

It was no surprise to me that June 2, 2012 was just as beautiful. 

It started off with a Dam(n) race. You see, last year I hurt my foot and watched from the sidelines as Rob crossed the finish line of the 20k that Iowans affectionately know as Dam to Dam. This year, we marked five years of wedded bliss by putting ourselves through the pain that a 12.4 mile run brings. Since I had so much time to think along the way, I realized that the course of the race is a lot like marriage -- there are ups, downs, bouts of pain and lots of laughter (my favorite sign: "Your feet hurt because you are kicking so much butt!") but it's so worth it at the end of the day. 

Rob crossed the finish line in 2 hours exactly. I was right behind him at 2 hours, 4 minutes. He waited for me by the medals, and I fell into his arms as tears came to my eyes. It felt so good to accomplish something so major together, even if we didn't run side by side the whole way. 

We made our way over to the photo area and posed like a bride and groom smooching. 

We cheered on some more runners (go Summer, who if you remember said she had "no desire to do anything that ended in a K" last year). We hung out with the friends who stood up with us on our wedding day five years ago. 

And then we went on a date (Men in Black 3 in 3D--highly recommend-- and P. F. Changs -- also amazing). 

I should also mention the night before our race-iversary we went to see the Nadas (my fav band) at Nightfall on the River in Des Moines. 

About three songs into their set, Rob asked me to dance. Mind you there was no dance floor. You sit in lawn chairs on a sloping hill. I REALLY did not want to do this, and tried to escape his grasp many times. Finally, after I decided I was making a scene, I gave in. 

Sure, I felt silly, but just like Oct. 16, 2007, once I was in his arms I didn't want to leave (cheesy, I know). I told him I didn't deserve him. He agreed and then laughed. Sometimes I'm not sure why God is so good to me, but I'll take it. On our way out of the amphitheatre, some guy stopped me and asked, "Are you two newlyweds?" I flashed him a smile and told him that no, we were marking five years together tomorrow. It was, by far, one of the best compliments we've ever received.

When we got back to the hotel, he gave me my anniversary card and a present of new running shorts for the race. All I had for him was a card and the story of a botched art project (more on that later -- damn you Pinterest). Like I said, pretty sure I don't deserve him. But in case you didn't know, this Dam to Dam was the 33rd annual. 33 is my lucky number. Pretty sure I'm the lucky one. 

One Lucky Guy

It was either this, or the football player.

I have considered myself a very lucky guy for a long time. Whether it was good or bad, it always seemed to work out.  I do think I’ve worked hard for my luck, but either way, I am pretty lucky.

I distinctly remember the first time I felt like I was lucky (get your mind out of the gutter). I was sitting in Mr. Bowman’s science class in 7th grade. I have always considered myself a smart kid, even when I lie about my past. I sat towards the back of the room, and we were going over the periodic table of elements. The textbook we were using (remember those?) had the table spread over two pages right in the middle pages of the book; so the  binding was visible, and a slight space appeared vertically down the center of the elements. 

Now, for all of you that haven’t looked at, or thought about, the periodic elements since that day in Jr. High, there are also a group of elements that were separated and moved below the table as man-made elements (I’m not looking this up by the way, my wife can vouch. Pure memory, and probably wrong). 

Added photo after text was written. I think I was right...

So Mr. Bowman was talking the Charlie Brown teacher talk (c’mon: wah wah wah, wah-wah wah wah); and I was probably just starting to pay attention when he asked the class if there was something odd about the periodic table. There was some silence. I looked, raised my hand and said, “This is easy. The table is split down the middle.” Of course, Mr. Bowman said I was right. I think you can see where this is going. I thought it was split oddly because I had never seen it split vertically before. He thought (or at least played it off as) that I knew the bottom elements were the man-made ones. I got lucky.

But my luck didn’t stop. Oh no, it kept getting better. I was lucky enough in high school to have people that wanted me to succeed. I was the sportscaster on a TV News team that won the All-State competition. I wasn’t considered rich growing up, but I got by with what we had. For the news broadcast, I didn’t have a sports coat, or even a white button down shirt. I did have a black shirt and tie though (used sparingly throughout high school). The judges at the competition said our newscast stood out because of our commercial, and it was hilarious. But he also made a point to say that the sportscaster took a chance and stood out by wearing a black shirt and no coat. Sometimes you remember the little stuff.

Just getting into college was luck for me. But I got there, and after semester one I needed to get my act into gear if I wanted to stay. Sometimes it’s not what you know, but who you know. And I had a good crew in college that were more focused on academics than not. And that support was beneficial. I ended up in a great place because of it.

I also remember in college when my luck wasn’t so much good. Long story short: I lost a “bar fight” with the glass from a fire extinguisher case. I had the pleasure of spending the night in the tank. But, it led to some good. When I went to my broadcasting class later that week (and the beginning of Triple Threat TV at ISU) a cute girl was eyeing me. I found out later that she was trying to figure out if I really was the kid from the paper she read about in the blotter. Good news for me, she liked me anyway, and now we are about to celebrate our 5th year of marriage together (June 2nd). And you know how we’re celebrating? We’re going to run a 20K in Des Moines. I have a feeling I’ll be lucky to finish.

Addiction.

Now with Faith almost 2-years-old, I decided it was time to get rid of the pacifier. We had talked about it anyway when I was out of school. But it was just as big of a crutch for Nicole and I as it was for Faith. So, last night, when we were on our way home I got stubborn, and pretty much told Nicole we were going to go sans-binky right then. Cold Turkey.

She said that I would be the one in charge for the night. And I got lucky. It initially took about 10 minutes to get her to calm down. We have a giraffe that makes music, and so I decided that would be her replacement. So when she was upset, I wound it up and made sure to give it to her, then rub her back. Then she was out. She woke up once at 5am, for just a moment. I repositioned the giraffe and she was out again. And that was it. She woke up at 6:30 (about normal) and was ready to rock and roll. Nicole gave her presents for making it as a “big-girl” and our day has commenced.

Duck, Duck, ALLIGATOR!

You know the expression, “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch,” right? This was night one. We still have two long car rides today - and probably nap time too. But, I’m lucky. We’ll see I guess.

By the way, I didn’t mention being on (and winning) Wheel of Fortune, falling into a wonderful career (I literally replied to a newspaper ad that said, “Tired of your current job? Did you always want to become a teacher?”), getting to jump out of a plane and tell about it, visiting Ireland, and a myriad of other moments in my life. 

The family with ISU women's basketball coach Bill Fennelly and his 2028 recruit. Oh, and yellow skinny jeans.

As I often say (to anyone who will listen), I am the luckiest guy I know.~Rob