No gift is sufficient

Today, March 1, is my wife's birthday. I won't tell you how old she is, nor will I tell you what I got her. I'm just not very good at picking out gifts.

We have sort of an agreement. At least I call it that.
Since I am fashionably-challenged – how is that for a politically correct word – I tell her to please never expect me to buy her a gift of clothing as it will most likely be a) wrong color, b) wrong size, c) wrong fashion or d) all of the above.

The real answer is that I could never, ever give her anything close to what she is worth.

Just recently, I put together a special section in my work at The Anderson News. The occasion was Anderson County High School basketball coach Glen Drury reaching 500 wins in his career. That, in itself, is a huge accomplishment at the high school level, where seasons are much shorter than the colleges and pros. The fact that he did it all in one place is almost unheard of. But because it was such a big deal, it was decided to give that 500^th win some special treatment.

I contacted several former players and coaches in the area for comment. One constant that kept coming up was the importance of a great family that understands the time demands and unique characteristics of the job.

And it made me think of my own life of long trips to some small town in the middle of nowhere, too much fast food and too many late nights to get the job done. Without a special person, it wouldn't happen.

Saying that Stephanie is special is a major league understatement. There are many times when I ask myself what she saw in me.

But I am glad she saw what she did.

We are both old school to varying degrees, but we met online. Really, we did.

Both of us had been divorced and we had some of the same fears of our relationship but soon realized we were usually on the same page.

We had numerous mutual friends and one of them, my high school basketball coach, Wayne King, had a part in our wedding.

Over the years, we have become a team. Instead of staying at home when I have game nights, Stephanie decided to come along with me. She's been invaluable.
One winter, I developed a blood clot in my leg after a surgical procedure. That was a problem in my work as I am usually standing and taking photos at ball games. Hiring a photographer would not have been economically feasible, although I used a free lancer on occasion. The answer was I taught Stephanie how to use a camera.

She eventually became proficient enough to have one of her photos published on the worldwide Little League website.

And because of the fact that I am hearing impaired, she often listens in to interviews, especially those taped in places with much background noise.

I really don't know what I would do without her.

My work can be fun. When I have branched out from sports writing, Stephanie has been there with me as I interviewed Country Music Hall of Famers Duane Allen and Joe Bonsall of The Oak Ridge Boys, TV personality and comedian Tim Lovelace and she's opened our home to rising country singer J.D. Shelburne. Through my work we got to meet one of our favorite musicians, Paul Martin, and his delightful family, the Martin Family Circus.

But something tells me she would be just as happy attending a high school softball game as she would sitting on press row at Rupp Arena or sitting backstage before a concert.

Happy Birthday, Steph. It's been a crazy and incredible 10 years together. I can't wait to see what is in store for the future.

And I hope you like your birthday present, even though it can't come close to saying what I want. So this will have to suffice.
You really are the best.