Ten Years Together

   C and I reached a milestone yesterday. It wasn't a huge one. I'm not sure most couples even remember or of celebrate it. Ten years ago yesterday,I met C for the first time.
   It was an unseasonably warm January day. It was also my day off. I decided to drive across the river. I liked to walk around the town down by the river and look at some of the shops there. There was an ad in one of the shops for a coffee shop on the edge of the downtown business area. Part of it was inside a complex of caves that were there. It looked interesting.
  I went inside and ordered a latte with Irish cream. It was the standard drink I would order whenever I went to a new place. It's hard to screw up. I chatted a little with the tall,dark haired guy that made my drink. I sat down at a table with a book to enjoy it. It was pretty good. I liked the place and made a mental note to come back whenever I was in town.
   The following Sunday, my mother was visiting. We had gone to the Conservatory in St. Paul to look at the winter flower display. We didn't want to go home yet and found ourselves in the river town I'd been in on my day off. I suggested that we stop at that coffee shop for a drink.
  We went inside, got our order and sat in the back room to drink it. The man who served me was setting up a mike stand and preparing to play.  He played a few songs, pausing between them to make comments or tell stories about them. He had written some of them and talked about songwriting.
   I was interested. I had done some writing  and knew what he was talking about. I wondered if we would have enough in common to be friends. Maybe we could write songs together. I could write lyrics and he could write the music. My little fantasy was interrupted by my music hating mother who wanted to go home. "Come back and see us again", the man called out as we left.
   I was a lady on a mission. I wanted to find out two things about this guy. The first one was his name. If he introduced himself at the beginning of the set, I missed it. I also wanted to know if he was the house musician or if this was a one time gig. The last time I was in there was a Wednesday. I thought that I would go back again the next Wednesday to see if I could find out what I wanted.
  Wednesday came. I decided to show up just a little early and have a bowl of soup while I waited to see if the mystery man would appear. While waiting for my order I saw the huge sign on the wall. It had C's name on it and that he played every weekend. How did I miss that sign? It was huge. Now I had what I needed to know. All that was left was to see if the man himself would show up.
   He did. We introduced ourselves and had a nice chat. It was the beginning of many.
   I hadn't planned on falling in love. I had broken up with a guy that I had dated for four years the year before I met C. I had decided that I was done with men and that I would enjoy being a happy and single pharmacist and cat lady.
   That wasn't the path I was supposed to go down. It hasn't been a smooth path. We've survived the death of our beloved cats Ary and Nim. We moved four times in a year and a half. We struggled with family members.
   We also had some wonderful times. Our wedding, a trip to Myrtle Beach, settling in a home that was ours, adopting Scamp and Colby. We've sent Carrie off to college and worried as she spent her semester abroad in London. We've taken people to The Melting Pot, the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum and the Minnesota History Museum. We got to see James Taylor at the Xcel Center. (Thanks to Denise.) We've played music together at home and at church.
  I could never have imagined I would have all this ten years ago. It never occurred to me. I know it's not fashionable to be so in love with your spouse, but I am. Sometimes I get mad at him and sometimes I wonder why I married him. The same is true for him too. We always, no matter what, remember that we love and care for each other deep down. All the little fights and things are just on the surface. Our foundation is solid and sure.
  I think C and I finding each other is something of a miracle. Both of us were at just the right time in our lives where we were ready for each other. Miracles don't have to be big flashy things. Sometimes they are simple and ordinary, like going to a coffee shop......