To My Baby Daddy...

As many of you know, Alex and I share many things. House, Cat, Cars, and the best two days of the entire year, the 19th and 20th of July.
We are exactly one day apart in age. This makes for a week full of festivities! We started the week last Friday with an intimate party for friends and family. It was a hoot! I made Tapas and Paella. To top the night off just right, my parents brought both Blueberry and Cherry pies. Yum!
It was a super celebration.

Today is Alex's 27th birthday (insert old man jokes here).
Aside from being my spouse and soon to be father of Peanut, he is really so much more.
Alex is my best friend. He never fails to make me smile and he knows exactly what to do when I'm at my grouchiest.
Over the weekend, he took me on a romantic date to the South Street Burger Company for a sunset dinner at a sticky table next to the overstuffed trash cans. (He really knows how to treat a Lady).
While we were sitting at our not only sticky but wobbly table, the music coming from the plaza speakers began blaring a steel pan version of the 'Little Mermaid's" 'Under the Sea'. This made us laugh. The music is funny, yes, but what made me laugh were the memories I have of Alex singing 'Under the Sea' to me while I was resisting my PADI certification.

In 2006 Alex suggested that I get certified to dive so that I could accompany him and his Dad to Belize for a Dive Trip in the winter of 2007. Although a water lover by nature, I put up a huge resistance. I didn't want to dive. It was expensive and I hated the idea of relying on my (potentially) faulty equipment to keep me alive at 60ft. There were many tears shed over the idea of dive lessons but I eventually signed up to do it.  I really wanted to go to Belize and if my PADI certification was going to take me there, then so be it. Just before my first class, I was nervous. What if I hated it? What if I freaked out and drowned in the pool? That would be the last way I would want to go considering that I'm a pretty good swimmer. I loathed the idea of being uncomfortable near the water and my attitude clearly reflected it.
Just as I was leaving the house for class, Alex started singing 'Under the Sea'. I started laughing. First of all, for those of you lucky enough to hear Alex sing, its pretty amusing. Secondly, he NEVER sings unless its a big deal. I was flattered and realized that he was just trying to make me smile and calm me down. I immediately felt better. I sang 'Under the Sea' in my head for the rest of the night and occasionally giggled at the notion that this silly song was actually making me happy to learn to dive.
The dive course turned out to be great. I met some really neat people and it turned out that my swimming skills were an asset. I used less oxygen and I swam faster than everyone else. I was also very calm and comfortable in the water. Alex knew all of this and instead of expressing it in an ego-coddling way, he chose to sing; an act of true love and the only way he knew I was going to listen. (I'm such trouble!). As for the equipment, I inherited my sister-in-law's equipment and it's great stuff. I've had some replaced due to the fact that my luggage got lost on the way home from the Bahamas a few years ago, and the new stuff is even better. I've learned to trust my dive gear but more importantly, through Alex, I've learned to trust myself. He knows me better than I know myself.
(Note: Now when we dive, I ALWAYS sing 'Under the Sea' in my head as we descent. It calms me down and it is really the most appropriate song to sing when you are literally under the sea).

For Alex's 27th birthday, I wish him all the best and more. I hope that I have made his life as wonderful and fulfilling as he has made mine. I am truly blessed to be married to such a wonderful person and I am so excited to wake up next to him everyday (even if he has Dragon-Monkey-Stink-Breath). The next chapter of our lives is going to be a wild ride but I can't think of anyone I would rather share it with than him (singing and all).