Buckeye Mike

In 8 days, I will dance with my red headed sweetheart to the song that this lyric comes from. "Not sure why her path crossed mine, accident or grand design" seem to be the perfect words for us to share our first dance as a married couple. After all, when I met Tiffany I was not looking for anything other than good conversation and she was merely looking for a friend. Yet as we got to know each other over a beer some 691 days ago, we each saw something in the other that gave us a hint that we could be more than just an occasional "how's things" from an acquaintance. And in just a week and a day we will see that hunch we had as we walked away that night come full circle as we combine our two paths into one. The wedding has approached with great speed. What once was an idea set off in the distant future is now bearing down on us and will arrive before we know it. A few weeks ago, we traveled to Illinois to visit family and meet with our wedding planner extraordi...

The hall is booked. The food is ordered. Her dress is beautiful, and the rings are simple but elegant. A day that started as an idea, turned into a long term goal, and seemed so far off in the distance it was almost intangible is now a little less than two weeks away. In 12 days, Tiffany and I will stand before my Uncle, who will pronounce us husband and wife. A little less than 4 years ago, if you had asked me if I would ever be married again, the answer would have most assuredly been no. After 15 long and tumultuous years of treading water in an unhappy marriage, I was ready to spread my wings and see what was out there. And I did. I have told stories and documented instances on this very blog of the rocky road I went down after losing my mother and then my first marriage. It was a long couple of years of heartbreak and rebuilding that led me to a little bar in Whitehall, Ohio in April of 2011. What started out as a simple date to test the water turned into something so much bi...