Five years ago, I said, “I do” to my best friend. Five years ago, surrounded by family and friends, I became my husband’s wife. Five years ago… seems like it was just yesterday.

I randomly will remember moments from that day. Everything from making sure I didn’t run into my groom before I walked down the aisle to the rain softly falling as we stepped out of the church to cutting the cake to doing the Aggie War Hymn to sitting at our little cabin for the night eating summer sausage and drinking Crown and cokes. And everything in between those events. It doesn’t feel like we should be celebrating FIVE YEARS.

But, in the same breath… I can believe it.

I sure can’t fit in my dress any more. We’ve had three different addresses in those five years. We’ve handled job losses and job advances. We’ve lost pets, and we’ve gotten new ones. We continue to chase our dreams, both each other’s biggest fans. We now understand the statement, “I love you more every day.”

We’ve had arguments. We’ve had laughter so hard we couldn’t breathe. We’ve had moments of glory, we’ve had moments of failure. We’ve lived our life hand-in-hand for the last five years, and we hold hands looking to many, many more ahead.

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*Photo by AJW Photo.

Wishing my husband a very

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

If you’d asked me before this weekend if I was afraid to go on a long ride on the back of a bike, I’d have probably not given you much of an answer. Or, I’d have given you a much longer answer than you wanted.

I’m not afraid. Its just not high on my list of things to do. As in, not even on my bucket list to be knocked off it.

HOWEVER.

I married a man who happens to love motorcycles. Who has had bad accidents on them, and yet still wants to get right back on. There’s something admirable about that… not letting anything stop him from doing something he loves.

Not even a wife who practically wanted to burst into tears over plans to go riding yesterday. Because that “just not interested” turned out to be, “Scared to death.”

When a friend offered us his bike for the afternoon, my husband became more excited than anyone’s kids after Halloween, staring at a big bowl of candy. I couldn’t not go. I couldn’t deny him this excitement. He wanted to share this big part of himself with me, and I appreciated that more than I could share under the quivering, shaking, terrified child I became.

We went to pick up the bike. We got bundled up (since even though it was upper 60s, it would be chilly on the bike), my husband plopped a helmet on my head and… I swung a leg over and had a death grip on my husband as we took off.

We hooked up with some friends to go riding together, and off we went hitting back roads around Nashville. It took awhile, but I slowly released the death grip I had on Hubby’s jacket. I even got confident enough to dig out my phone and take a few photos.

Half-way through our travels, we stopped to have a light lunch together. Fighting daylight, we didn’t linger long before we took off again. Getting back on the bike, I figured out a more comfortable way to sit, and my confidence went even higher.

As the sun started to set (darn time change), it started to get chilly. We stopped to stretch our legs for a moment and come up with a plan. We headed for a local bar for a post-ride drink before calling it a night.

I faced a fear, and I conquered it. I have to thank my husband for being so adamant we were going, despite my fears. I didn’t fall off. We didn’t crash. We only  had ONE vehicle ignore a Yield sign and pull out in front of us — but then, that happens ALL THE TIME here, so it was just annoying versus scary. I didn’t freeze. And… dare I say it? I had fun.

Yes. I had fun. There. I said it.

I. Had. Fun.

And I will be happy to do it again sometime.

My husband and I ended up on an impromptu date night last night. Actually, we do those a lot. I think its our way of justifying eating out instead of going home and cooking. But no matter, I absolutely love our impromptu date nights and it has nothing to do with not cooking. Its because it means we won’t eat staring at the tv… we eat looking at each other.

Yesterday, it was day three or four of overcast, dreary skies. I’ve lost count already, but the funk I found myself in couldn’t be denied. My husband is a bit under the weather, but we both just wanted to get out of the house. Despite gas prices, I went, “Let’s just go for a drive.” So we did. No destination in mind. Just drove.

I don’t know how long we drove, nor did I pay much attention to how far, but eventually it grew dark and our stomachs started to growl. However, we were listening to a radio program that we didn’t want to stop listening to, yet. I suggested we “take the long way” back to downtown Nashville, and then we could eat at our favorite corner bar. Hubby liked the idea, and that’s what we did. We took the long way back, and we probably averaged just under 40 mph the whole time. Still, we somehow got to our destination faster than we wanted, but with stomachs growling, we parked and went to eat.

And you know what happened? Last night, we didn’t talk about work. We didn’t talk about bills, groceries or laundry. We didn’t talk about current events. We talked about each of us individually. Sharing stores from “back in the day” and growing up. It was like we were dating again, just getting to know each other. I think had another patron in the bar not started smoking a cigar, we’d have stayed at least another hour just talking. But with my husband under the weather, we agreed he needed to get away from the smoke. So we headed home and called it a night.

We went on an impromptu date, only this time it definitely wasn’t just an excuse to not cook. This was a DATE. And I loved it.

A big reason why I want to make writing and photography happen for me as a career (outside of a sheer love and passion for them) is that I love the personal flexibility it provides me. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I know I have to stay focused and on-task to be successful. However, I like being able to be at home when my husband is home.

Right now its touring season, and my husband is on the road more than he’s at home. A fact we are both extremely thankful for, and a fact I strive to work around as much as possible. On his few days at home, I want to be able to move my projects around to step away from the computer and sit on the front step with him watching fireflies, listening to the high school band in the distance.

I like to sleep later than usual, when he’s at home. My rush to get up and start the day disappears for a few days. I’d rather snuggle down and stay where he is for another hour… or two. If he has a meeting to be at, I like to tag along… even if I just sit in the car and people watch, waiting for him to come out.

In the same breath, even when he’s tired from the road and wants to go to bed “early,” he’ll push forward awhile so we can go to bed at the same time. If I have a meeting of my own, he too tags along. He’s always game to any hair-brained idea I may have for us to go do, “Just to get out of the house for awhile.”

We strive hard to coordinate our schedules when we are both at home, knowing the hours together are precious before I’m dropping him back off at the bus to head to another show in another state.

Sometimes… sometimes we aren’t too successful. Take tonight, as I write this. I am trying to keep my schedule a bit “off” for upcoming nights working downtown in a bar. My husband, however, has a session bright and early in the morning. So in an odd move, he went to bed hours ago while I sit doing some work on the computer. In the morning, he’ll get up and head into town, while I snuggle back down under the covers for a few more hours of sleep.

As always, we are thankful for the work. Oh, once in a blue moon, I get a little grumbly, wanting more time together than working, but it never lasts too long. I quickly remember that work is what we prayed to get, and work is what we are thankful to have. We make the most of our time together, and I aim to continue to be able to do that. I don’t want to be ships passing in the night, if I can at all help it.

I’m sitting on a flight to Austin, TX again. My head leans against the wall of this Southwest Airline plane, and LeeAnn Womack croons to me about Solitary Thinkin’. (FYI – I’m in the music video for this song.)

You’re probably wondering what the title of this post means. I’m getting to it.

Ah… Heidi Newfield now. A dear friend. “Cry Cry (Til the Sun Shines)” I turn it up to hear the B3 sing to me. I smile.

No one around me can hear it. Similarly, if someone spoke to me now, I’d hear nothing. I’m wearing my husband’s back-up pair of E5s.

E-what you might ask. I know I was lost the first time I heard of them. Think super-duper-expensive and high-tech pair of ear buds. Like the ones that come with your iPod.

If you’ve been to a concert, or perhaps have watched live music on tv, you’ve probably seen the musicians and artist wearing headphone/ear buds. They’re called in-ear monitors. They let the musicians hear themselves. Some artists use floor monitors (basically speakers facing them) to hear instead, but a vast majority today use In-ears.

Random side story, I was at a concert when the guy beside me very seriously told me, “They wear those so someone can tell them the words to the songs.” I just nodded and acted like it was brilliant he figured that out, all the while going in my head,”You wouldn’t believe the truth even if I showed you my lammie (backstage pass) to prove I know the REAL story.”

I still remember the first time my husband let me wear his In-ears for awhile. It was long before we even started dating; he stuck them in my ears to hear what he was hearing. I was amazed. The quality was impeccable and I am sure my jaw dropped when he said they cost him $400 new.

He’s used these In-ears for years, but as all things have want to do, they started to just wear out. They have ceased to be the superior quality he needs and expects on stage, and he’s gotten a new pair. (Thankfully this time NOT paying $400.) His old faithful pair are his “just in case” back-ups.

They’ve made many miles with him. Every state in the US. They’ve been to Canada, Turkey, Iceland, Switzerland, Qatar, Japan, South Korea and more.

Last night, as I packed for my trip, I found my iPod ear buds were MIA. I tore through multiple bags to no avail. Dug in jacket pockets. I found $5 but no ear buds. I was facing a 2 hour flight without music.

I plopped on the couch with a pout.

My husband offered me his old E5s.

“No self-respecting wife of a musician should have sub-par ear buds anyway,” he said.

I was giddy!!! This morning he dug into his work-box and carefully packed the old E5s and tucked them in my purse. He has no idea that that gesture meant more to me than if he’d stuck a note in there that said, “I love you.”

So as I carefully put them in my ears and cranked up the iPod, I felt like he was wrapping me up in a big bear hug. I was no longer traveling alone.

Now Exile is singing “Gimme Just One More Chance” and my toes are tapping happily, sipping a cup of tea from Starbucks. Ready, now, to embark on the weeks adventure: my cousin’s wedding…