To Mark on his 34th birthday

This being the eve of my dear husband's birthday, I thought I'd take this opportunity to sing his praises a little bit. Mark and I celebrated 13 years together in May. The guy I'd dated before Mark was, let's just say, not a good choice for me. I was stumbling through college at UW-Fox Valley not working particularly hard and kind of aimless. My whole life shifted when Mark came into it. He was the kindest, smartest guy I'd ever met, and he made me want to be a better person.

The fall after we started dating, I transferred to UW-Oshkosh. I became much more focused. I did well in school for the first time in a long time. Mark was attending UW-Madison, so we had a long-distance relationship for two years. It was hard to be apart, but still, our relationship thrived. A little more than a year after our first date, Mark proposed. We were young - just 21 at the time (one uncle called me the child bride when we married at 23), but I'd say we've done pretty well for ourselves.

When Mark showed up at my bridal shower with dozens of roses, my sister-in-law, Sara, who's married to Mark's brother, Steve, laughed knowingly and said, "Don't expect that to last." She was right, because I'm sure she knew that grand gestures are a small part, at best, of good, long relationships. Don't get me wrong, Mark still surprises me from time to time, but that's not really the point. Long after the romance and excitement of new love has faded, after we've been married several years and the appearance of kids has whittled our one-on-one time to nearly nothing, I know: Mark is the kind of guy you want by your side for the long road ahead. There is no one with whom I'd rather experience the good times and bad.

I recently read a piece Tom Hanks had written about questions he's always asked on the press circuit. One is, "What's your secret to a happy marriage"? His reply? "I was smart enough to marry Rita Wilson." That would be my answer, too. I was smart enough to marry Mark Thiel.

I'll close this post with some lines from a favorite Avett Brothers song, All My Mistakes. Mark first quoted these to me in our 10-year anniversary card, and I think they're perfect.

I made decisions some right and some wrong
And I let some love go I wish wasn't gone
These things and more I wish I had not done

But I can't go back
And I don't want to
'Cause all my mistakes
They brought me to you