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For My Wife on Valentine’s Day I can’t relate to the saying, “ I know it like the back of my hand.” That makes no sense to me. I don’t spend much time looking at the back of my hand. I think I could identify my hand if I had to pick it out in a police line up, but I don’t think I could describe it well enough for a police artist to make a reasonable sketch. Who knows the back of their hand, anyway?!What does make sense to me would be the saying, “I know it like my wife’s face.” My Lover and my Bride -- your face I know well. I have studied it over and over -- every pore, every line, every contour. I have memorized how your eyes express joy, peace, and tender compassion. You have many different smiles and I know what each of them means. A mere glance at you and I can tell the condition of your soul. Some women age, but as time passes, you merely grow more radiant -- with or without make up. Your beautiful, glorious heart shines through whether you have groomed yourself or not. When I was a young man, the thought of being attracted to an older woman was beyond my comprehension. But now, having spent the last 30+ years sailing through the storms of life with you, I find myself overwhelmed and exhilarated at the mere thought of you, let alone at the sight of you. Literally, you take my breath away. But of course, you know all this. You know how I constantly gaze at you from across every room. You know how easy it is for you to make me lose my train of thought, just by looking at me. You know. You know. On our wedding day, when I stood at the altar and saw you suddenly appear at the back of the sanctuary in all your glory, I could hardly keep my composure. Even more so now, having had our love refined through the fires of marriage, my love for you is closer to pure gold. Another couple of decades and the dross will have completely burned off. If you have this affect on me now, what lies ahead?!
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