Happy anniversary, honey. I love you more than ever.
He liked it. So, he put a ring on it.
That’s right, before Beyonce was Beyonce and Jay-Z probably went by the name Chester or something cool like that, I met a boy named Bobby Rapson in the sixth grade. He was the new kid. And he liiiiked me.
I thought he was nice.
But he was persistent, and after a couple years he captured my heart. And then he ripped it out and stomped on it. (He doesn’t like it when I talk about that part.) And then a couple of years later, he captured it again. This time for good. And then a few years after that, he put a ring on it. A very nice ring! And then another. And now, it has been, I can’t believe I am writing this, ten years.
Ten years ago today, Bobby and I took our vows in front of God and everybody. TEN YEARS! We’ve been married for ten years. We were kids playing house, but somehow we transitioned into adults living life and even giving life to our own children.
Inside Bobby’s wedding ring, I had the French phrase Vous et nul autre engraved. This is partly because I was a French minor in college and thought French was cool, but mostly because it translates “You and no other”. It was sweet, and romantic for me as a 22-year-old bride to put a ring with that saying on my new husband’s finger. But it was also serious and intentional. And every day that we are together, it becomes more so. Our marriage has been about so much more than just the one day. It has been about, with God’s help, choosing each other, and only each other, every single day.
Bobby has chosen me again and again when I have not been the most lovable, beautiful, or sweet girl around. And I have done the same for him. Because we said we would. And it has been so very worth it.
I love you, Bobby Rapson! Let’s choose each other again tomorrow. After we celebrate tonight!
Thumbs Up for Love
Yesterday was an anniversary of sorts for Bobby and me. Not the anniversary of our first date or wedding or the day we got engaged or anything like that, but still, a day we remember every year.
It was the day he cut his thumb off.
At school.
Romantic, yes?
September 29, 1995 Bobby and I were seniors in high school. We weren’t even dating but we were close friends, and had been since he’d ripped my heart out and stomped on it our freshman year (you’re welcome for that one, honey.) Yes, we’d been a couple our freshman year, but then he had the GALL to break UP with me! And somehow, we remained good friends after that. Weird, I know.
Anyways. Bobby was in 2nd period Junior Achievement class making I don’t know, wooden checkerboards or something with a saw, and the board jammed, and fast as lightning drew his hand into the saw, taking off a good part of his right thumb.
Did I mention he had a substitute teacher in class that day? Poor girl!
(Of course we had a group presentation in Personal Finance 3rd period that day and Bobby was in my group. Since he was um, indisposed, he ended up getting the same “A” the rest of us got, you’re welcome again, honey!)
Anyways, fast forward through sirens, lights, EMTs, and emergency surgery, and all the King’s Horses and all the King’s Men cannot put Bobby’s thumb back together again. My mom and I went to visit him in the hospital the next day. When we were saying goodbye, my mom gave him the “thumbs up” sign and said “Hang in there, Bobby!” The THUMBS UP sign, people! It’s a legendary family joke to this day!
To make a long story short, after this incident, Bobby and I started spending a LOT of time together. He missed about three weeks of school and since he was in three of my classes, I brought him all his homework and helped him with it. Since he couldn’t write and he was on narcotics, you know, he needed a “hand” (ba-dum-bum-SHHHSSHH!) He was bored out of his gourd being home all the time so I took him to the mall and the Family Bookstore to buy Christian rap CDs in my ’87 Toyota Camry station wagon. Those months, despite the giant bandage on Bobby’s hand, were some of the most fun of our lives.
And after my long-distance boyfriend of the time broke my heart, Bobby was there to pick it up. Homeboy made his move on December 16, 1995 and we’ve been together ever since.
So, Bobby cutting off his thumb was kind of one of the best things to ever happen to us, because it brought us together.
Half a digit? A small price to pay for a lifetime of love!
I love you, Bobby.