My Superman

Day 10: Giving Thanks for My Favorite Superhero

Today is Mr. Mo’s birthday! He’s my Man of Steel, my Super hero, and forever keeper of my heart! ♥

We met 30 years ago at a Halloween party being hosted by a girl named Michelle who happened to be my co-worker, and his neighbor. Neither of us wanted to attend that party, but neither of us could find a way to stay away.  In fact, both of us actively tried NOT to go. But, there was a magnetic force pulling us together that night which we could not resist. Interestingly enough, the party broke up fairly soon after we arrived – most of us heading off to a dance together. Looking back, the party seemed to last just long enough for us to meet and set our love story into motion.

I had already received my Mormon mission calling and was leaving in 12 days. It had been my dream since I was 5 years old to serve a mission. Now here I was meeting the man of my dreams! How Ironic. We spent every waking moment together for the next 12 days. He had served a full-time mission to Belgium and France and had already been home for three years. He loved his mission and wanted me to have that experience, so although he was truly in love with me, he never asked me to stay. Instead, he told me to go! And shared that he planned to be waiting for me when I returned so we could marry. He stood in the prayer circle when I was set apart as a full time missionary. He rode in the same car with my family  to the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. Then bid me farewell at the door and rode back home in the car with my bawling mother (feeling super awkward! haha). He faithfully wrote me two letters every week for the next 18 months while I served my mission “in the wilds” of Wisconsin. And, he also faithfully enjoyed Sunday dinner with my family back home in Utah.

But, I didn’t know what would happen by the time I returned. He was such a great guy. Surely, so many girls would be trying to catch him. Maybe he would get tired of waiting? Maybe he would find someone else? Or, just change his mind about me?

But just like every Super Hero, this was a man of his word. He loved me, and he was planning to wait for me and marry me. He was solidly committed. The more letters we wrote to each other, the more our hearts were knit together across all those miles. There’s a lot of unique bonding that happens during long separations and some advantages to extended courtships. It was good for us.

Just a little over two years after we met, we had our “happily ever after day” when we married for Time and All Eternity in the Salt Lake LDS Temple.

And Then Our Journey to Infinity and Beyond Began!

Of course, a fairy tale “happily ever after” is not real life, because the story in real life doesn’t end on wedding day. It just begins! We started out our journey as struggling college students living in a tiny one room student apartment with cold cinder-block walls. Although we were poor as church mice, we were so blissfully in love we felt as rich as royalty. We officially became a family 12 months later (surprise!) with a beautiful baby girl “Daughter A”, and were blessed with another beautiful baby girl “Daughter Bee” 3 short years later. We loved and taught and raised those two sweet baby girls all the way up into adulthood in what feels like happened in a blink of an eye. [How strange to think that both of them are older today than Mr. Mo and I were when we met!]

We have lived in six different homes. We’ve had happy times and sad times. We’ve survived unemployment more than once, we’ve been recipients of the church welfare system, we’ve endured serious medical crises, and we’ve waded through a myriad of other trials, heart aches and worries.

But we faced it all together. Me and my Man of Steel. We just kept going. We kept trying. We kept holding on through the storms, repairing and re-building our marriage fortress over and over, and finding our bliss. He always held down the fort while I was off singing and performing. He was “Mr. Mom” a lot. But he never complained. He continues to give me wings and support me in my musical calling.

About four years ago, Mr. Mo and I discovered a shared passion for road races and themed fitness events. We started signing up for one racing event per month as our “hobby”. We’ve completed at least one race per month on average (or more) ever since.

We’ve slopped through the mud, we’ve showered ourselves in colored chalk, we’ve run in the dark and in the snow. We’ve gone the distance together! 5K, 10K, Half Marathons… we did them all! This year, I signed up for my first Full Marathon , but he finally shook his head and said ‘no thanks! I’ll be your cheerleader instead and wait for you!’ – and he was the BEST cheerleader faithfully waiting for me (of course!) when I crossed the finish line!

[But don’t worry, I’m still working on him to run a Full Marathon with me! 😉 ]

Isn’t it funny how fast life flies by? And now suddenly we are entering the “empty nest” stage of life, and we are discovering a whole new phase of our journey together.

Happily, we are still best friends! And we are having even more fun together than ever! ♥

Happy Birthday dear man of mine! I love you to the moon and back. Thank you for being forever true, solid, supportive and faithful to me. Thank you for being the best Daddy in the world to our daughters who adore you. What a gift from God you are in all our lives. The world needs so many more good men like you!

Here’s to many more birthdays, and many more wild and crazy adventures together! Our story is still just getting started! I’ll hold your hand as we keep leaping tall buildings to infinity, and beyond!

Love, Mrs. Mo