Thursday, May 20, 2010

May 21, 1988: "THE DAY"

As nice as it would be to remember every detail of every day, there are certain days in your lifethat stick out more that others. That's just a fact of life. Athletes have championships. Historians have July 4th. Teachers have the last day of school. Accountants have April 15th.

I call them, "1 of those days." They are the days that I will always remember.

-September 8th, 1994 and March 14th, 1996 are 2 of "those days" because they are the days my daughters were born.
-Texas A&M beat Texas in 1985, 42 to 10 for the Southwest Conference championship. I was at Kyle Field. That was "1 of those days".
-ACU beat West Texas State in 1987 for the Lone Star Conference basketball championship. I was in the 2nd row of Section F of Moody Coliseum. That was "1 of those days".
-I got to cover Abilene High's victory over Katy for the State Championship in 2009. That was "1 of those days".
-On September 4th 1988, I met Conni Birdwell for the 1st time. That was "1 of those days" that led to THE day.

All of those are great, but the most important day of my life was May 21st, 1988. That is the day my wife, Conni, and I tied the knot. That day was "THE DAY" for so many reasons. That day shaped how my life was going to go.

"THE DAY" helped motivate me to complete my college education and get a job.

I am working at KTAB now because I got married to Conni on "THE DAY." When I was in college I wasn't the most motivated person in the world. I would hear about jobs and not pursue them because I was lazy. After we got married, I heard about a job doing stats for David Bacon during high school and college football games. 2 years later, David got me a job at KTAB, and the rest is history.

I am sure I am a better person because I married Conni on "THE DAY". She has a heart of gold, and I am driven to be like her as far as her compassion for others, her passion for life, and her drive to live a life that would please God.

Conni helped me get through the death of our oldest daughter, Hillary. As you can imagine, our world was rocked when she died shortly after birth because of a heart defect, but Conni and I had each other to help us get through it.

My marriage to Conni on "THE DAY" helps me be a good father to our daughter, Allison. Conni has a tender touch as a mother, and I try to emulate that touch in my approach. I am driven to be a good dad because I want our daughter to grow to be a Christian and a good person who will be a leader for her generation, and I want to please my wife.

Everyone's life is changed the day they got married, so I don't want to say mine was changed more that anyone else. I'm just saying, not everyone is as keenly aware of how important their wedding day was for them, as I am.

May 21, 1988 was "THE DAY". The most important day of my life, and I am so fortunate that God put Conni in my life.

Happy Anniversary, Bun.