The first card Wendell ever gave me was a giant version with a dancing Snoopy from Peanuts on the front. Underneath it said, “Since I met you…”

Inside, Snoopy bounced off the page with a little coiled spring, and the tag line read, “my feet have never touched the ground.”

I was eighteen at the time. And I was naive enough to believe we’d never lose that spring. But, our feet have touched the ground several times in the decades since. Fortunately, we’ve faced all those hard times together. We’ve held onto one another and to God, vowing never to let go of either one.

And, as it turns out, I’m as grateful for the days of trudging through as I am for the days of dancing — as long as we do them together.

Happy Valentine’s Day the man of my dreams and my reality.