My family has a wonderful tradition that requires no big purchases. We have a “Secret Santa Claus” drawing and then either write a story, a poem or make something appropriate for the person we were given.
Fortunately, I drew my girlfriend Audrey, and it gave me a great opportunity to tell my family how I feel about her, and how the journey has brought us to this place in time...
You’ll notice my lack of poetry accumen, and hopefully appreciate the feelings expressed...
Here goes...
Audrey...
The worlds a funny place,
It giveth, it taketh, and it giveth again
This is how this story begins.
An email in an unlikely place,
“Try match.com,
find a new mate.”
In a moment of wonder a profile was formed,
before anyone could intervene,
or anyone could be warned.
I was honest and forthright,
and it frightened most away,
so on to Zoosk I moved my info one fateful day.
It didn’t take long, just a day or two,
a beautiful face showed up,
and it belonged to you.
and for all the first dates in your collection,
for all the men who were possible selections,
somehow we both swiped in the right direction.
I’m going on a date, the thought it seemed insane,
It’s too soon, you’re not ready,
the voices in my head proclaimed.
We met at Hines Ward’s Table 86,
I was nervous as could be,
but the very first smile from you is how you stole my heart from me.
We spent that first night talking and listening,
the stories we told left our eyes glistening.
you had my attention
that much is for sure,
a game was on TV and never once did I ask
"what's the score?"
What happens next,
a second date at Mad Mex,
talking some more and building mutual respect.
The third it was magical because of a hat,
who knew headware was were it was at?
Graylin’s Adventure is what it said,
and you proudly placed it on your head.
Not long after that,
right there at the table,
you kissed me a thank you,
my world went unstable.
Again as we parted we kissed goodnight,
and in a moment again, the world was alright.
From there it’s was a blur of dates and travel
and someone who didn’t mind picking up what had unraveled.
Hiking at McConnells Mill,
New Years eve and Hocking Hills,
Checking out DC’s sites,
Momma G and New York’s lights.
State College with Rox and Jim,
New York’s wine country and the Brickhouse Inn.
Cooper’s Rock for the first time,
hanging with the meetup gang was fine,
they rated me with boo’s and dings,
some of them thought I could sing.
The election came and to our surprise,
a hair piece won the biggest prize.
Washington, Jefferson, Kennedy, Lincoln.
What the heck are people thinking.
Off to DC again to March after the inauguration,
what’s the fate of our Great nation?
Our travel didn’t stop there,
soon we hiked in Colorado’s rare air.
Rocky Mountain National Park was delightful, wild and showy,
and on the last day really, really snowy.
Italy sounded like our next great idea,
so on TripAdvisor I would often see you.
You laid out what was a fantastic trip,
squeezing in activities, sites, gelato and too much wine to sip.
Florence, Tuscany, The Amalfi Coast, Capri and it’s Grotto,
oh and I can’t remember if I mentioned the gelato.
All these places with you I’ve gone,
let me say I think we are far from done.
Back to NYC for a show
you know is the next destination we’d go,
and we had Kate and Aly in tow.
A story about Freedom and a revolutionary fight,
“It’s Quiet Uptown” had us sobbing alright.
You held my hand and understood the emotion on display,
and told me gently and firmly “I’ve got you the rest of the way”
Cupid is like Burr,
he aimed his bow and shot it,
and into my chest the arrow went
and my big heart it caught it.
So far we’ve come, so far we’ve gone,
so many miles, and trips and battles won.
I think I said somewhere before that we are far from done...
This family here,
this Christmas Eve,
it’s time for me to tell them,
my heart belongs to this gal here,
her name is Audrey Graylin.
PS
Before she left she said to me,
don’t be afraid,
don’t be scared,
don’t stay alone,
don’t you dare.
Don’t stay bereft,
it doesn’t pay,
it’s not the place I want you to stay.
Look for the “collateral beauty”
this I see as your next duty.
And then I got this email from Match...
Click.
