The Moment I Knew

Call it the romantic in me but this is one of my favorite memories.

Jim and I were dating and it was January in Michigan. He drove a brand new 4-wheel drive red Chevy truck. He had just traded his one year old black truck for the next year model a couple of weeks before.

He picked me up at the apartment where I was staying and we were just cruising around on the back roads that were very snowy and talking. All the sudden he looks at me and smiles the kinda grin someone has when they are about to be mischievous says "Let's just see what this thing can do." Then he pulls the steering wheel to the right and drives into the ditch.

I was shocked and worried. The ditches in Michigan can be huge, some of them you can drive down into and no one would even know you were there if they didn't look. They are that big. I held on wondering just what would happen next.

We made it a quarter mile or so and got stuck as he was trying to get back up to the road.

It would not have been unusual to me if he would have gotten angry, mean, began cursing and acting like a jerk. I was used to guys who did stupid things and then got mean when they backfired.

Not Jim, he looked over at me and laughed.

He shook his head laughing and said "Would you mind leaning forward?" I leaned forward and he reached behind the seat and grabbed a shovel. "Well, now we know what she can handle" he said, still with laughter lingering on his voice. "Make yourself comfortable, I'll have us out of here in no time." Then he leaped out of the cab and sank in the snow up to his thighs.

That moment, when he chose to be cheerful and playful in acknowledging the foolishness of his actions and happily accepting the consequences, that was when I knew he was the man for me.

I can honestly say, I've never, not once regretted that decision. After 20 years of marriage I only love him and his craziness even more.