Last night while Toni was in the bathroom getting ready for bed, I turned the lights out, lit some candles, and put "our song" (The Luckiest by Ben Folds) on repeat on the stereo. When she came out of the bathroom I looked into her eyes and asked, "May I have this dance?"
Granted, I'll admit, I'm still new at this-- it's been just over a year, we're still getting used to our new roles. We did live together for about two and a half years before we married, so we've been together long enough to get used to one another's quirks and eccentricities (although, we still manage to drive each other nuts with some of those quirks) but, the people who forewarned us that marriage is a significantly different creature than cohabitation, were quite right.
And looking back, I've really got to say that all of the other relationships I was in before this one were just practice. All of those times when I thought I'd found "Miss Right" in the past, the difference was that the feelings faded-- they weren't sustained. Heck, in at least a couple of the relationships I was in, things were incredibly intense, but it seems the hotter the passion burns out the gate, it seemed the quicker that passion burned out.
When Toni & I first started talking it was mere friendship. It was a spark, not a bonfire. And the spark has steadily grown-- and we've had a few fights or arguments in the past, where admittedly, I would have walked out on anyone else. But I can't and won't walk out on her. And with every day that passes, I do find myself more in love with her than the day before.
On Saturday night we went to a small get-together/party with our usual circle of friends-- friends Toni had before I moved here and I "inherited" when she and I started dancing. One of the couples at the party brought their 2 sons-- a 5 year old and an 11 month old. Toni was holding the 11 month old for awhile, and she was positively GLOWING. We both want kids, but seeing her holding that baby just reinforced how much. At one point I was playing with the other 2 boys (our friend, John, had also come with his 3 year old, Bryan-- incidentally he's named after Bryan Ferry of Roxy Music-- John is a huge Roxy Music fan), and I realized how much I too wanted that. I've been in the picture long enough now that I've watched Bryan growing up. When he was still a toddler at another get together a few years ago, he actually reached out and wanted me to hold him (at the time I had a goatee, and facial hair was a new/different/foreign concept to him), as I was holding him he'd reach out and feel my goatee. At any rate, he's never been shy around me and he never ceases to amaze me, the kid LOVES music, he can literally recite tracklistings from his favorite CDs (keep in mind he's only 3). John was telling us that he's been using one of Beck's CDs as a potty-training tool ("You don't get to listen to Beck until you go poopies in the pot.") which had me cracking up quite a bit.
Between watching Toni with the baby, Tim, and my spending time with 3 year old Bryan, and Tim's 5 year old brother, Sam, well it was pretty evident that kids are somewhere in our future. Last night, after dancing together, Toni & I sat and talked about our future and our wants/needs/desires. We reflected on our time with the kids the previous evening and how much we wanted that as well.
Monday, May 22, 2006
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15 comments:
It's so awesome that you and your wife can discuss these things freely.
Good luck starting a family, when you're ready to do so.
It's so great that you and your wife found each other... may you have many happy years.
Blogger ate my first comment.
You should practice cleaning up vomit from your bed and clothes first to see how bad you want kids.
Or maybe throw a little poop on your walls to see how that goes.
If you can survive that - you're good to go.
Green Eyes: She's not just my wife, she's my closest friend. :-)
Susan: Thank you.
Phoenix: If the little tot starts doing fecal murals I'm sending him/her to Art Pre-School!
I'd kill to have that kind of relationship someday....
Hee...Beck as a potty-training tool...haven't heard that one before.
bruce: It took a few misses and a couple of broken hearts before I was able to find this kind of relationship.
bearette: The fact that he's 3 years old and digs Beck enough for his father to use Beck as a potty-training tool is what floors me!
What a cool post. I hope to read about many little Perplexios in the coming years!
Wow, great post! It reinforces my desire to get married next month.
And your friend John is obviously a good man. I have a portrait of BF tattooed on my forearm, along with one of David Bowie and Keith Richards.
snooze: We're in no rush, we want to get out of our apartment before we start a family.
leazwell: Yeah, I've heard about that happening. When my wife does eventually become pregnant, I forsee Chicago's first 5 albums getting some serious play.
dickeybird: I have an online friend who has several music related tattoos including the Chicago and ABC (remember them?) logos, a picture of Robbie Robertson (of The Band), David Bowie, and a few autographs tattooed on various regions of her body.
You know what? That's a damn nice post!! You're wife's a very lucky lady.
What a delightful post, Perplexio. I was smiling from first sentence to last. I'm so pleased you and your sweetheart have found each other, and hope with all my heart that your dreams of parenthood come true (when the time is right, of course). You both sound like you'd be great parents.
That's a pretty extraordinary moment to experience - made that much more amazing by the fact that it seems you and Toni have maintained the ability to really communicate with each other. Lots of people lose that over time. Thanks for letting us have a glimpse of it.
You look like a ninja in your new profile pic.
Phoenix: I hadn't noticed before, but I daresay, you're correct...
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