To know you is to love you. For you are one of a kind. For there was only one you, to love me. For there was ever only one person to love me deeply and faithfully…and that was you. It’s always been you…

I still remember that rainy warm night in Michigan, in the field of South Middle School as we ran and laughed at each other, with each other, careless and free. We were walking through the open field, then suddenly my phone (Verizon flip phone) started playing Phil Collins: Groovy Kind of Love, in my pocket. We still never knew how this even happened. Either way, that became “our song” that night. God was watching. He was smiling. But I can’t say he was smiling bigger then I was that night, because that was pretty hard to compete with. I remember texting you on my way home that night and telling you that my face hurt from laughing and smiling so much.

Just to be with you was pure bliss and my entire body tingled. You always had that affect on me, since I was only 11-years-old. So young, I know; but I knew! I really, really knew! THIS is what love feels like. You were a gem to be fought for. And boy I fought (ask anyone from my childhood days). You were one of a kind. And I was determined to make you mine forever. The fight was tough. But eventually, I won. You were the prize of my lifetime. I’m so lucky to be your wife.

Phil Collins has always reminded me of you and I…(our story, our childhood, growing up together-you were my best friend since I was 11-years-old), yet at this stage in life, here we were in the field of raindrops, being 20-something-years-old now, walking home from JB’s Place (the local bar of walking distance). We both stopped and stared at each other as my phone started playing (“what was that sound?”). After realizing it was my phone, you said: “will you dance with me, Stacy?” Just you and I, in the middle of the field. It was so quiet. Just us and the music. It started to rain harder. You didn’t see my tears. I’ve never been more happy in my life. It was warm and humid. We both laughed and thought it was the craziest thing. It was then that we fell to the grass in laughter, only to stop and look around and realize that this is the very school we went to together as we were just little kids trying to “fit in”. This was the school we walked together to each and every morning, not saying a word to each other because we dreaded school. This school is where I became more then a just that little girl–I fell deeply and madly in love with my best friend. You were my ride or die. My sneak-in-my-window-at-night friend. This is the time where I was nominated “Most Fun to Be With” and won, because of you. These were the days of “is-that-Bobby-Sock-under-your-bed”? You were my “let’s-makeout-because-there’s-nothing-else-to-do, friend.” my “let’s-ride-our-bikes-to-town, friend.” my “I’ll-hop-on-the-pegs-of-your-bike, friend.”. The “let’s-carve-our-names-in-the-Belleville-lake-bridge, friend.” You were my “stay-the-night-at-my-house-every-weekend, friend”. We spent every single day together. Every holiday, every Halloween. We caused so much trouble that to even look back makes me cringe to tell our children one day. We were always together-day and night-maybe because you didn’t want to be home with your family and I didn’t want to be alone with mine, I don’t know. But we found each other and discovered things about one another only you and I know. It’s like a secret little world we have. A little piece of Heaven. You’d knock on my window at night, crawl in and we’d never say a word to each other some nights. We’d just sit on my futon together. It was company that was needed, silence. Sometimes no words needed to be said. Although, at the time my heart was screaming ‘I love you, Bobby’. You got me.

As kids, we were always outside, even in 4-foot of snow. We’d make snow forts, igloos, build snowmen and we played hide-and-seek in the neighborhood. Every Winter day felt like a snow day back then. We’d roll big balls of snow and barricade the street and laugh as cars had to turn around because they couldn’t drive through. We snuck into the pool and went night swimming in the summer in our underwear. We put shaving cream on Larry’s house and turned on his faucet behind his house. We used rolls and rolls of film in my 35mm camera to only never be developed. We discovered fun and trouble like kids do. And I fell in love with you. All of you. Every bit of that 11-year-old-boy over the many years we grew closer and closer together. I fell in love with how you loved me as your best friend. How you were the first knock on my door each morning or just walked in through the door like you lived at our house. How you’d raid our pantry and take all the sweets we had. We eat all the Schwans ice cream my mom had just bought. You hugged me when I’d cry over a boy. You’d watch movies with me on week days and play Crash Bandicoot, Rush and Mario Cart together on the weekends. We’d order pizza and 40’s from Benito’s pizza and devour every last bite. We’d rehearse verses from Austin Powers. We’d play D.A.R.E in the midnight hours, as we cuddled up in the back of Mike’s pickup truck with piles of blankets while just staring up at the stars. We’d dance the Macarena naked in front of the clubhouse. We’d laugh, we’d fight (oh man, we fought), we’d forgive (very quickly). We discovered kissing was our way to escape the pain of our childhood. We went roller skating every single weekend together; never, ever missed one night. We talked–ohhhh, those talks. We fell deeply in love. I knew it. Yet, you didn’t then. You were still so young. So scared of that feeling you had for me. What in the world was it? Everyone else knew it. We were always ‘Stacy and Bobby’. I’ll never forget the night that you told me that I was irreplaceable. It’s engraved in my memory like it was yesterday. Sitting on the railing outside the clubhouse garage-you said: “I know we’ll find a way back to each other one day. Maybe five, maybe ten, but we will; because you’re Stacy and you’re special to me.” I’ll never forget those words that day.

Growing up with the pressures of high school, the groups of friends you had (that I didn’t approve of) and the groups of girlfriends I had (that you didn’t approve of), we managed to destroy our once close bond into a pass-a-please-forgive-me-note between classes. I cried over you countless times in the bathroom. Skipped school and walked home alone. My heart was broke for so many years as we drifted. But I was still waiting and ready for you. All of you. Even as I grew older. And I have always been ready to give you all of me. You became my Bobby. My ‘Umbro Bumbo’. I was your ‘Lisa Frank Bitch’. You were my everything. My soul mate. God’s reason for me to keep pushing and make something of my life. I always had this voice in the back of my head “what would Bobby think?” before I did something.

I thought about you after I left Belleville after my Junior year of high school, and I wrote you letters. As with time and with the advance in technology, we found each other again. Although, only a few years passed between us, (with some much needed other relationship experiences-thank God for those!), we managed to pick right back up where we left off. We were always so good at that. My love for you never disappeared, no matter where life took me. Because you were one-of-a-kind, unique. You had my heart. You knew the real me. You understood me. There need not be any explaining or telling you where I came from or why I am who I am. You stole my heart and never gave it back. And today, I thank you for that. And in our lives today, you still get me. You still love me and spoil me beyond what I deserve most days.

Thank you for being my person. Thank you for loving me wholeheartedly for who I am. All of me. Because you know me…the real me. Thank you for providing us with this beautiful life we have. This beautiful home. Careers we love. Two beautiful daughters…thank you for giving me two beautiful daughters to love. Thank you for doing this while parenting thing with me. You really are an amazing father. Thank you for never ceasing to amaze me with your ability to still give me butterflies with your beautiful brown eyes and just the touch of your hand. I love you Bobby. You may go by ‘Robert’ now, as we are grown, but you’ll always be MY Bobby. And everyone who has grown to know us since we were young, knew you were mine. They knew “Stacy and Bobby”, always.

Happy anniversary my best friend. I love you so deep, it hurts. You have me, all of me, forever. And I know that I have you too. And that’s not something everyone can say about their marriage. We have something special, something rare. A real bond that insecurities have never existed. I admire that about us…

Baby, wouldn’t you agree, you and me have a Groovy Kind of Love…

Will I think of you?

Will I think of you?

Only at sunrise

Which is God’s beginning

For you were there

At the beginning of me

When I came alive

And discovered my place

My worth

The beauty of earth

And the miracle of daybreak

Once again

And the richness of mornings

To come

Only in the morning

Each time

The darkness of past

Is chased

By the light of now

Will I think of you…

Only then

Only at night

Where the silence

And the blackness

Is touched occasionally

By a lonely cat

Or suspicious puppy

A passing place

Red eye winking

To the stars

Who refuse to be seduced

When I hear

Your whispered love

In the tree rustle

When I feel your secret hand

Exploring me

Drifting across my skin

To rest in a friendly

Harbor

And my mind tells me

I am alone

But my heart knows better

Only then

Will I think

Of you

Will I think of you?

Only when it snows

And the whiteness

The pure

Virgin

Whiteness

Covers my face

Of the earth

To cleanse the trampled

Corruption

Of times past

Like a new love

Delicate

Untracked

Unexplored

Waiting for the lovers

To choose carefully

The path to heaven

Together

When I am overcome by

The realization that you

Created the whiteness and the

Purity

And you led me

Like a child

Both of us children

Into

A new an pure

Wonderful land of our own

Where each step

Left a priceless Landmark

And promised a new

Place to explore

A new step to come

Then I will

Watch the snow

Falling in swirls and flurries

Of perfect crystal tears

I will watch

The new virginity

Embrace the earth

And I will think of you

Only when it rains

I will recall

An aching soul and crying heart

Standing in pools of the saddest light

Back to back

And moving away

And I knew

The tears in your heart

Would soon be on your cheeks

To wet my fingers

As I held your face

Up to the light

To remember

For tomorrow

Then…

Whenever the eyes of heaven

Overflow

And God’s tears

Wash across my window

I shall see again

Those streaks of love

Which flowed for me

To bind an aching soul

To a crying heart

And I will think of you

And when the day is clear

After a rain

And a new vision

Of the landscape

Is visible to all

Who will

Bother to look and see

When I remember how I felt

Safe enough with you

To let you see me

Cry

When the tears washed clean

The windows of my vision

And I could see

The past and present of myself

And find hope and strength

For the future

And after the rain of my crying

I felt washed

And fresh and loved

As my babyself

Must have felt

When my mother

Bathed her infant

Then after each rain

How can I help

But think of you?

Will I think of you?

Only when it’s cold

And I’m shivering

Against the wind

And suddenly from inside

The core of me

From my deepest depths

Comes

A small warming flame

Which wants to grow

And I fight it

Until I realize I need it

Want it

To flow through me

To fill me

Because

It is you

Only in the spring

When the first warm breezes of April

Give courage

To the youngest

Tenderest

Shoots of nature

To appear

To live

To grow

When the thaw

In the mountains

Sends the pure cold

Cascading

Waters

Down the

Hillside

To fill the streams

As you fill me

To laughter

And tears

Only then…

Will I think of you

Will I think of you?

Only when I feel

Warmed and wanted

Though once

I felt I was outside

Looking in

Disconnected

Watching the world

Go by

Then…

I’ll remember

That in your love

I found acceptance

And I’ll think of you

Only when I laugh

At a joke of others

Or my own

Or a memory of you

And the laughter rises

Out of the well of me

To be tasted

By my mouth and lips

When the tickle rolls

Through my body

To remind me

Of days and nights

Of free laughter with you

Even while others stared

At the crazy couple

Wondering what could be so funny

In a world

Of grim rushing

And painful waiting

Urgent hoping

And sad silences

Then

When the laughter

Is multiplied

By past joys remembered

And I can’t stop

Even to catch my breath

Of to give relief to my aching sides

I’ll realize

That the laughter of my life

If for you

Because of you

And I’ll think of you

But only then

Or when I’m sad and lost

Tired of trying

When the tears and pains

Of the world

All seem to be mine

When there is no one but you

Who would really understand

The emptiness of my soul

The sorrow

Of trying

And failing

Of knowing that

Life can be trial

Where the judge and jury

Sometimes sit

With faces of stone

And will not respond

Even to a cry

From the truest heart

When I know

That the final precious blossom

Clinging to the tree

Will surely fall

Under the constant

Persistent

Pressing of the wind

When I know that you

And only you

Could see all this

And hear all this

And be with me in my sadness

In silent understanding

And shed tears

For my sorrow

Then I will think of you

Only when the turn of fortune

Comes my way again

When I ride

The crest of triumph

Glowing with pride

In the promised fulfilled

When the adoring crowd

Has returned

With shouts of approval

Then I will search their faces

Looking for the one

Who stood beside me

In defeat

And should be there

In the victory

Which is empty

Without you

Will I think of you?

No…

Only when I’m with others

Surrounded

In a crowded party room

Listening to

Several conversations

People communicating

Or trying to…

Watching the

Blur of figures and

Faces go past

None coming into focus

Except yours

Again and again

In each corner

In each chair

In every smile

Only you

Persistent

Forever

Only then

Will I think of you?

Only on the highway

When I travel

Searching for money and fame

And finding that neither feeds me

When I pass

The other travelers

Some going my way

And some not

But I realize

That this is what we all

Must do…

To fall behind

The traveling flow

And catch up

And pass others

Then fall behind again

Passed by those

Who rush on

Believing that

It is best

To be there first

But I know that this is

Where we all are

On the highway

That there is no “here” or “there”…

There is only

The coming and going

If we can help

One

Who finds the way

Too hard or too long

Then that is worth

All of being

And I will try to help

Because someone helped me

Someone who cared more

About the brothers on the

Road

Than about the

Gifts at the end

And that someone was you

So I will think of you

Only on the beach

Where the timeless

Never-ending surge

Of water

Changes

The face of earth

Again and again

Each minute of the day

Night

And always

Where the children

And the aged

Come together

To chase a wave

The surf

Of a dream

Where the tide shifts constantly

Teaching me

That today is only today

And whatever I have

Good or bad

Much or little

Must change

Or it will rot

And die

Then and there when I recall

The change

In this thing called me

The new sides

New forms

New shapes of me

Which came

When you

Washed across

My being

Then, there

On the beach

I will think

Of you

Will I think of you?

Only when I’m alone

Staring out my window

Into space…

Which becomes you

Your love

Smiling back

To the warmth

Of my heart

Filling the emptiness

The loneliness

With your being

Only then

Will I think of you

Only when I hear music

And the songs

Of the poet singers

Remind me

That

All things are for all

People

That there is

A love and a sorrow

A joy and a pain

Which each of us separately

Feels

As if it is our alone

And it is only ours

Even while it is everyone’s

For each of us is

A separate miracle

In a collective miracle

Brought together

For a moment

By a group of notes

And a scan of words

From the heart

Of one

Who dares

To think

That others

Might feel

As he feels

And he sings it out to us

As a gift

To be accepted

Or rejected

But given with

A heart of love

I thank them

The poet singers

Who give us communion

And help us join with

Each other

Think of each other

And bless us

With each other’s love

For in that music – love – rhythm

I feel your

Heart beat

And I will think of you

Will I think of you?

Only when we’re apart

And the aching joy-pain of our love

Surrounds me

Filling the air I breathe

Only with each blink of my

Eye which yearns

To re-open to find you here

With me

Only with each clock-tick

Which makes my ear perk up

Hopeful

That is has heard

Your key in the door

Only when I daydream and re-dream

Out coming together again

When the world will fall away

Leaving only two figures

Yours and mine

Merged into

A classic chord

Loving…

Being loved

In each

Part of harmony

Only on special days

Birthday, holidays

And other days…

When those who

Give to each other

And live for each other

Travel

For hours or days

Or for an instant

To hold

Or dream-hold

Each other

To exchange

Heart-warmth

And body-warmth

When we commemorate

And celebrate

The special days

Of life of love

Then and especially then

Because the day is special

As your glorious being

Is special

I will think of you

Only when we’re together

And I can think of nothing else

And everything else

Because we together

Are everything

And our togetherness is

All things

Then as always

And forever

I will think of you

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zhm7ouCa1NI

One of my most memorable moments of us in those days, was when you stopped traffic in downtown Ann Arbor. You took my hand and walked me out into the middle of the street. You didn’t care about traffic or how they (surprisingly) patiently waited for us to move. You didn’t care that people were watching. It was just you and I. Christmas lights surrounded us. Snow was coming down faster then people could shovel it. It was a moment to remember. You asked me to dance with you. Right there! In the street! You hummed music into my ear as you twirled me around in the snow under the stop lights. We laughed and ran back to the sidewalk. And with disbelief, I couldn’t believe we just did that. It felt like a movie (The Notebook—we were The Notebook!). You had a knack for being so romantic and adventurous. It was so much fun. I felt like my heart was going to explode. I can still feel that moment. What a beautiful memory to have.

I remember we got snowed in that year. It snowed so much that we had to walk to downtown. It snowed so much that our cars were buried under the snow and after two days of non-stop snow, we had to dig them out. The best part was being stuck in Ann Arbor, with you. The best part was having to call off work because there was no way to leave. The best part was being stuck in your apartment as it came down inch after inch until foot became foot. It was beautiful! And so much fun! I loved every minute of it.

Riding in your car, windows down, sunroof open. The warmth of the Michigan summer nights, blasting the sound track to this movie. I love how listening to these songs (now) is like a capsule back into time. The feelings that I felt those days, reignite. I thank God for those moments. They really were the best times of my life.

I love you.