My Other Rock

This guy's my rock with skin on. (Jesus is my heavenly rock.) Russ and I will celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary this year. Wow! It seems only yesterday we were getting married on August 13, 1988 in front of our family and friends in Petaluma.

We have two incredible sons, and their security in themselves is due in large part due to his commitment to them as their dad. (He is kind enough to say it's because I'm a great mom. That's just the kind of guy he is!)

When Bobby played high school football, Russ arranged his work schedule to be home early every Friday night so he could see his games. He goes to every school awards night and every Boy Scout Court of Honor, even when Billy's not ranking up.

He opens the car door for me. He encourages me in my whims, like my short-lived attempt to play the saxophone, and then again a few years later when I picked up the guitar. And he never makes me feel stupid about it.

With Russ, chivalry is not dead, and I love feeling as though he'd throw his cloak down to cover a puddle for me, or pull out his sword and defend my honor.

He is my safe harbor, my voice of reason, and the one I count on to do the right thing. He is pragmatism to my idealism. He is cynicism to my naivete, and I need that balance!

He's one of the hardest working people I know, and always captures the admiration of those on the job with him. He's the one who'll visit a co-worker in the hospital or help one of them move. And he's done it plenty of times. Although he's a pretty smart guy, he'd have been happy being a farmer. I love that about him. He never feels as though he's better than anyone else.

We have a fun little phrase we say when we want the other one to speak the absolute truth: "sodium pentathol" (truth serum). Here's some sodium pentathol: You're our family's calm and steady anchor. The boys are blessed to have you as their father. You're always there for us, and what you do every day for our family is deeply appreciated!

Love from your wife, Edda :)