Fourteen years

On May 12, 2004, I will have been married for fourteen years. It doesn't seem like it's been that long (at least, not most of the time).

I have been very lucky in these past fourteen years to share the company of my wife. She's definitely the boss of the house but she lets me do a lot of things I want to do and, through her financial management, has allowed us to do some things I know I wouldn't have done (like buying a house, much less being on our second house).

I want to do something beyond flowers and a nice dinner for our anniversary (although I'm already planning that). Part of the reason for this is that I will be fishing with my dad in Missouri the following weekend.

As I drove by the local humane society last night (they're open late on Thursdays), I thought about getting a pet. I put this out of my mind quickly, though, for two reasons...

1) She doesn't recover well from losing a pet and it generally takes her a long while before she's ready to replace them.
2) She's specifically said she's not ready to get another dog. JD has been behaving himself much better as an only dog and we like it that way.
3) The last time I got her a pet as a gift was a disaster that caused us much headache and heartache.

She had said she had always wanted a persian cat. A friend at work was trying to find a home for his mother's cat, Felicia (it's a big picture and may take some time to load). I jumped at the chance, sight unseen.

Felicia was an extremely loving, friendly, cuddly kitten and was a joy to have around. Unfortunately, she had a problem with using the litterbox. After several years of cleaning and replacing carpets and eventually having to lock her up in one of the bathrooms in the new house and clean that bathroom on a daily basis, we decided to have her put down.

So... no pets. When Shelly is ready for a new pet, she'll let me know.