The Ties that Bind

I've been with Big Daddy a long time. We're bonded in good and bad ways. Like most couples, we've balanced the line between love and hate. The best gift of hanging in there is you get the knowledge and realization that you never actually hated the other person -- just some words, choices or actions. I'm a little embarrassed that it took me so long to figure this out.

(Tomorrow, I will lose all reason and write a blog post about how crummy husbands can be. Let me have this moment.)

Like most of us, a ring was slipped on my finger when I wed. Mine is simple and beautiful. Inside, the inscription says, "Forever." The only time I take it off is for routine cleanings or to have the settings checked. I'm tied. I'm blissfully tethered.

Years ago, I wanted a toe ring. We were on vacation in the Caribbean and the husband was patient enough to walk from store to store in search of my perfect ring. I refused to get one that wasn't a perfect circle; I didn't want the pinch-it-together kind. We didn't find one.

Several weeks later, I received a Valentine's Day gift of a simple gold ring that could be sized to my toe. My mother tells me that no one wears a toe ring any more but I do and it has special meaning to me.

For Christmas, I received a necklace with interlocking circles and the story of how it represented us.

Don't get jealous. He can be mean and obnoxious. We've had problems and I'm sure there are more to come. I am annoying. He can be a **##!! But he's my **##!!

Today we were flying back from Hangdog's funeral and the family festivities. The husband was listening to his iPod and I was making some notes. Then he took one ear plug out of his ear and put it in mine. The cord connected both of us and we were listening to the same song.

Tied and tethered and holding hands.