Dear Mikey,
Twenty-five years ago today, minutes before we were to be married, you snuck into the back room of the church; you wanted to be alone with me, for a few minutes, before sharing our big day with family and friends. I remember those moments like it was yesterday. I started to tear up I hollered at you; my make-up was perfect! But we did hold on to each other, for what seemed like and eternity, before you finally said… “Let’s do this!”
Little did I know then… what all that would entail! We had one glorious year together, getting the kinks worked out, before finding out we were pregnant! Although we never got to meet and wrap our arms around our little bundle (you affectionately call Vincenzo Fred)… we continue to love him from afar and know we will meet someday. God quickly blessed us with another pregnancy and “almost” nine months later Jordie came into our lives; we were never the same. Two and one-half years later, Chunk-O-Love Nicky joined us and our family of four was complete.
The next ten years are a blur of your work, my work, your travel, my weekly business dinners, two kids in rarely the same school at the same time, soccer, girl scouts, softball, baseball, boy scouts… you remember the chaos! It was tough… like it is on all young families. We hit some bumps along the way… but each time we dealt with them head on and came out stronger than before. We held each other up, more times than we’d like to remember, when loss and grief came knocking at our door. Our kids were in three different schools, in three different states, in three different years, and Team Baker grew stronger… not weaker. We taught Jordan and Nicholas more about perseverance, because of our own challenges, then, hopefully, they’ll ever have to know in their entire grown-up lives.
Finally, in their teenage years, we were able to start carving more “us time” into our lives. I’ve always appreciated that as hard as you work, and especially as much as you travelled, that you came home on the weekends and gave us your best version of yourself… even when you were probably feeling your worst. Every Saturday morning, instead of sleeping in, you and I would get up and go to the City Market, or out to breakfast, or just take a drive either in the country… to honor your roots, or down to the city… to honor mine. It never really mattered what we did or where we went… it was always about reconnecting, in a positive way, after another week apart. You kept us strong.
We managed to get both kids graduated from high school… with not a single encounter with an Overland Park police officer… not even a traffic ticket (!)… and away they went, tip-toeing into their own unique versions of adulting, while WE found ourselves empty nesters!!! I think it’s fair to say both of our kids are… well yes… appalled at how well we’ve adjusted! But they also (secretly) love the fact that we are so independent, not only of them, but of each other as well. I truly think that is our secret, Mike… that we don’t have to be together. We both know how to fill up our own lives… but we still choose to be together as much as we can.
And now we live in China... just the two of us. Wow… you’re still putting our marriage to the test after all these years! And like other times in our marriage, you had to do a little coaxing (let’s vacation in the middle-of-nowhere Minnesota in a cabin for a week with two babies), a lot of selling (“I don’t care if he is just 16, a boy’s first shot should be on Bourbon Street with his dad!”), and a tiny bit of bribing (You won’t have to cook, or clean, or drive…), but because of my blind, yet well earned, faith in you… of course I got on that plane.
If, twenty-five years ago in the back room of that church, I’d have had a glimpse into the world we were stepping into… would I have walked down that aisle toward you, or, run out the back door?
Neither.
Nope… I would have tucked that beaded train up between my legs, wrapped it around my neck, knocked over a few bridesmaids, tossed my bouquet to the crowd as I sprinted past, and as I jumped into your arms,… probably knocking us both to the ground… I’d be yelling, “Hell yeah… let’s DO this!!!”
I love you so very, very much, Mikey and am so happy that, after twenty-five years, we're still holding on to each other!
Bunny
