6 years with Mrs. Frenzel

I used to have a lot of knick-knacks when Sarah and I first started dating. Maybe it was because I was a poor college student who lived out on my own. Maybe it was left over habits from my childhood, where I collected cars, action figures, baseball cards, etc. Maybe it was because no one ever said “what is this crap; you need to throw it away!”... until I met her. Over the past several years, there have been several “purgings”, where I think I eventually came to recognize the fine balance between sentimentality and hoarding. And now I’m usually the one saying, “Throw this junk away! I don’t want to have to move it again.”

But there are two things that I have hung onto that I might just run back into a fiery house to retrieve- that is, after the wife, kids, hard drives, and my guitar are safe: A little picture frame that Sarah gave me for Valentines Day in 2002 and another picture frame with Beatles lyrics in it that she gave me for my birthday the same year.

Over the years, this guy has been through a lot:

It’s been crunched by a hairdryer a few time, dropped by the kids, and waterlogged from being on our sink counter in the bathroom. The picture was taken from a trip to Mammoth when Sarah and I first started dating- one of our first fond memories. When she gave it to me for Valentine’s Day, for some inexplicable reason, I immediately bonded with it. I think in subtle ways, it has come to represent so much about us. Over the years it has been broken a few times, like us. But I will keep gluing it back together even if its just dust and pebbles. The words “be mine” are so simple and cute- a quality of Sarah’s that I love and find invaluable to our relationship. The picture she put in it represents exactly how I feel about her; I love to nuzzle my wife and know that we are only each other’s. The frame is humble; it’s not showy, yet it always catches my eye- much like Sarah’s gentle and quiet spirit. And lastly, her expression is how I hope to make her feel for the rest of her life.

And then there’s this frame:

At the time, Sarah had an appreciation for The Beatles, but wasn’t really a “fan” per se. Yet she found a song that I have always loved and personalized it. I know what you’re saying, it’s kind of sappy. But at the time, we had only been dating for a few months, and it showed me that she took an interest in my interests. It made me feel paid attention to- I guess, special. She didn’t just get me a cool shirt, she took something that already had meaning to me and gave it more meaning. That’s who she is. That’s the woman I fell and still fall in love with- devoted, caring, sentimental, and thoughtful. Again, it has a simple message: “you are easy to love”- well, I am not easy to love. I am overly sensitive and can be pretty complicated- especially to a person who craves simplicity. And yet somehow, she still puts up with me... So there you have it- two simple gifts that remind me every day of why I married the woman I not only wanted, but more importantly, needed.

Sarah, it was March 4th, 2002 when we sat on those awesome white couches at your parents’ house, and with a pounding heart on the verge of exploding, I first uttered the words “I Love You” to the woman who would become my last girlfriend and future wife. And today, on our 6th wedding anniversary, I am a better man because of you. My heart is full. I love you, my wife.