The Ballad of belsum and Mr. b

We met in mid-May, 1993. I was still a week shy of my 18th birthday, though I was finishing my first year of college. We both worked at a burger & shake parlour near campus. I was still living in the dorm, Mr. b was couch surfing and sleeping in his car after just moving back to Minneapolis. We hit it off instantly. The fact that I liked the Beach Boys helped. Our first kiss was upside down; I was leaning backwards on a swing set.

But I was leaving for a month in Mexico in two weeks and didn't want things to be too serious. I drove my travel partner nuts with worry that he found someone else while I was gone. He drove his friends nuts that I found someone else and wasn't coming back. My train was late and I had no way to reach him.

After a couple of months of "just staying with" each other, we moved in together officially. We got a cat. We bought plates and towels and bedding and a car. We got a joint checking account.

Deep Shag had band practice in that first apartment.

We moved a couple more times. There were trials involving drugs and alcohol. Long separations while I was abroad. It was the 90s. Most of our friends could be found at The Hippie House. Brainforest. We adopted another cat. We had fun. We went to shows. Everyone played in bands and cooked like mad.

Mr. b proposed to me outside of Orchestra Hall. I said, "Sure!" He still hassles me for that response.

We got married on the Autumnal Equinox, September 20, 1997. The sumac was in bloom, it was cool, crisp weather, the sky was blue. We were Up North, on my grandmother's land. People camped out. We had bands play, a pinata to break, bonfires, grills, whiskey, kegs, it was a party.

Mr. b had to spend a month living at my parents house while I was in the field. He very quickly found us a new apartment! We loved living on the West Side and stayed there for 7 years. It was Hobbiton and we rode our bikes through the Shire and Bree and Moria and Lothlorien. Lunar 9. Our first cat died. We bought a Jetta. Medication.

We closed on our first house September 17, 2004. It was our 7th anniversary present to ourselves. I found out I was pregnant far sooner than either of us could have ever anticipated. Tron died. Our darling son was born July 2, 2005. Mercurial Rage.

And now we celebrate 9. One year short of a decade of marriage. 13 and a half years of being together. Love, laughs, fights, sex, drugs, rock n roll, fun, sleep, games, growth, life.