"the arc of a love affair...

rainbows in the high desert air."

on june 15, 2002, jenn and i were married and danced our first dance of the reception to hearts and bones, by paul simon. an odd choice for some, but with lyrics like that... well let's just say it seemed the perfect choice for our journey.

and today is one more step in our journey. today is jenn's birthday.

i woke up late this morning, struggled out of bed and didn't bother showering, threw on some gray chinos, a beat-up polo shirt and my dirty North Face hat, and stumbled into the bathroom to find...

jenn, lovelier than ever, all put together, and looking fabulous. i mean really, really cute. for god's sake, why did this woman marry me?

i'd like to share some of my favorite jenn memories:

• coming home from the lone bar in larkspur - the spur of the moment - late one night and getting stuck at the train crossing, where we all attempted to freestyle rap as best we could. jenn had just started knitting, and her contribution went as follows... "going back to the barn, where i keep my motherf#*king yarn." those in the car (me, roberto, jamie, others???) were crying from laughing so hard.
• sledding in 6 inches of fresh spring snow, on the lip of the grand canyon, with a couple dozen brazilian teenagers who had never sledded before (or seen snow for that matter). thanks to dennis for those very interesting and challenging youth group tours.
• jenn dancing onstage with the samples (and timmy) at wabash college in the spring of 1998. i believe maracas were involved, but i could be mistaken. timmy later lifted his shirt and showed the whole audience his then ample belly.
  
• jenn going head over handlebars on her mountain bike at jubilee state park outside of peoria; then getting up all muddy, brushing it off, and finishing the ride. she's tough.
• jenn finally joining me in my self-induced exile in jackson, where we hiked to the top of storm king mountain and took pictures. nothing had ever felt so right.
• watching her impressive coordination of last year's denver-wide ten year anniversary for americorps/nccc. if you need an event planned, call this woman. wow.
• seeing her transform herself and the angry hispanic teenagers she worked with during our year of americorps in las cruces, nm. most of them loved her by the end.
• and, finally - at a volleyball tournament in breckenridge this summer, jenn couldn't get to a ball with her upper body, so she stuck out her foot and made a foot dig. jenn and jamie went on to win the point and get third in the tournament. the mixed look of disbelief and confidence on her face after that point was awesome.

and so, i wish you a happy birthday today, sweet jenn. may your life be filled with those mixed-up moments of surprise and utter self-confidence. i love you bunches.

and bunches.

and bunches.