24 & 85 - my two finest ladies

I will love you completely with all that I am
I will love you without restraint
I will love you because of the love I can give
And not for the love I can take
All for the love I can give, and not for the love I can take
Mike Cross

24
On September 28th, Marisa and I celebrated our 24th anniversary. Marisa took a much needed week off of work and we headed to Key West. It ended up being one of the best trips that we have taken down there. I cannot express to you how much I enjoyed it. When I spend time with her, I am on cloud nine. She is my soulmate and best friend. We ate plenty of fresh seafood and visited some new places. We also visited some of the places that we never miss - Key West Aloe, Towels of Key West, Schooner Wharf, Mallory Square, Kino Sandals, Pepe's Cafe, Baby's Coffee, Boondocks, Geiger Key Marina as well as a few more.

We also did something that we had never done before - we rented a scooter for a day. Wow! What a blast. What a great way to get around the island.

We then moved up to Marathon for a few days. Marisa works for Bluegreen Corp. so she got us booked in a beautiful resort for next to nothing, but wow, what a great place to stay! We had a coupon for a free boat rental that we used one afternoon. We had a 26' with a cuddy cabin that we used to cruise the waters of the Atlantic. We spent our last night in Ft. Lauderdale at a small hotel on the beach surrounded by multi-million dollar resorts with billion dollar views. I hated to come back home!

Next year we will celebrate our 25th. We plan to take the kids to a small hotel in VA where we celebrated Marisa's parents 25th anniversary about 25 years ago!

85
On October 8th, my beautiful mother celebrated her 85th birthday and, believe me, she barely looks retirement age.

My mother is a role model for everyone. She raised 6 successful children with an even and loving hand. She provided 3 meals a day every day of my life. She is adored by everyone, and has long stayed in the background while my father accepted the attention, but without her, none of us would be where we are at today. She taught us all how to love, and she is truly one of God's children. She set an example for all of us, and I love her dearly. In the last year, my father has had some knee problems, so my mother has started helping him feed the animals. She even helped him milk his goat. He says she is the best helper that he has ever had. In many ways, my parents are still the young kids that fell in love over 60 years ago...much like the two middle age kids that just spent a week in the Florida Keys.

So, my two finest ladies, I thank you, I salute you, and I love you both.