A special Valentine’s Day

Kelley and I have been married nearly five years, but it seems like yesterday when my wife swept me off my feet.

I first saw Kelley on stage with her band Riveter. It was her first appearance with the band. Pre-Kelley, I was already friends with fellow bandmates Robin and Laurena, who was friends with my older sister in high school. So, I was for sure a Riveter groupie. Never missed a show, and after a photo of Kelley caught my eye in a poster Robin designed for Kelley's first show, I thought to myself "wow!"

I knew nothing about her other than I thought, from a picture, she was beautiful.

I went to the show.

It was at Quincy's.

All I saw was Kelley in a spotlight silhouette — kind of like an angel on stage sent from the heavens above just for me.

I was amazed ...

Long black, curly hair swinging back and forth. Black, sleeveless shirt, some sort of camouflage pants, black boots and an edgy, rocking voice. The bar was packed, but it seemed like her and I were the only two in the place. I remember a feeling came over me — I had to met and know more about Kelley. I never missed a Riveter show after that. Eventually, I started to make small talk with Kelley after each show. There was a reason why I stayed to the end of each show and helped the band break down its equipment and load it into cars — there was always an opportunity to talk to Kelley, but I was always too nervous to approach her. Finally, one night after a show, I told her how beautiful I thougtht she was. She smiled. I was hooked.

I knew there was an attraction between the two of us. I couldn't define it, but knew it was unlike anything I had ever felt before. The small talk we soon formed after each show eventiually led to our first conversation away from a bar, the stage and away from her guitar. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was at Bill and Robin's house. It was around the second anniversary of my twin brother's passing. I remember being incredibly sad and Bill, in typical Bill-like fashion, hugged me, handed me a beer and told me something to the effect that "everything would be OK…" Shortly after that, Kelley pulled up in her little black truck and we started to talk about books. She smiled and laughed. I knew after our first conversation I was in love with her. Everything about falling in love finally made sense to me. Oddly enough, there was a part of me that thought Kelley felt the same way. To my amazement, she did.

Nearly five years of marriage later and this smile still makes me weak in the knees.

And this fairy-tale love story added a new chapter to our lives with the birth of our son, Elliott Andrew, last March.

Valentine's Day was a day I always hated before I met Kelley. She wasn't crazy about it either. But since our first Valentine's Day as husband and wife five years ago, it has been our day to reflect back on how we did everything the right way by taking our time and letting the chips fall where they may. Call it destiny, fate or whatever you want, but I truly believe Kelley and were meant for each other. Still feel that way and will always feel that way. We have built an amazing life together and realized long ago that as long as we are together, everything else was gravy.

We're still just as much in love as we were the day we met. We're not wealthy, but we make a modest living and have money in the bank. We don't have a huge house, instead, we have a pretty small house that we paid way too much for (like a lot of other people). We've suffered through some very difficult times with the loss of my brother, stepfather and my dog, Buddy, last July. Through all the ups and downs and all of life's trials and tribulations one thing always stays the same — I'm still madly in love with my wife and my family means more to me than anything.

This Valentine's Day, we celebrate our love story with our son. I can't wait to be able to share the story of falling in love with Kelley to my son. I just know it's a story he will truly appreciate.