Traveler Extraordinaire

This is hubby's birthday week and I thought I might tell you something about the man in my life. First off hubby is really not my hubby (gasp, shock, gulp, applause?). We have been an 'item' for almost 23 years but have never made it official. Don't ask, don't tell! But in the end, hubby is the perfect word for him, so I use it.

He loves sports!!! OMGoodness. He is a sports fan. Mets, Knicks, Dolphins and UCONN!!!!!!!!!! Part of the funk of this week was seeing the UCONN women's basketball team fall short of winning the National Championship...only to be totally uplifted by the National Championship being WON by the men. UCONN, UCONN...

We both grew up in the same town, just steps from one another. Hubby is younger than I am though, so we did not really hang out earlier in our lives. He is one of five children, as am I.

More shocker news: My sister is married to his brother!!!!!!!!! This is true. She fixed us up by telling hubby I had a crush on him and me that he had a crush on me. None of this was true, until we started thinking this of the other. It's amazing what the power of suggestion does for romance.

When my sister married his brother, he had just spent a year abroad in college living in Rouen, France. He spent most of the year playing hooky from school and boarding the train and traveling through Europe. Nice, right? This gave him the travel bug. I saw him as very exotic and quite thrilling when I reaquainted with him at their wedding, however I was still married or in the midst of a divorce.

A summer later and a new divorce, he asked me on a date and as they say, the rest is history. My children were small and called him Uncle Scott. They called him this before we ever started dating because they called his brother Uncle Michael and it was just easy for them to call him Uncle Scott. They still call him this. He is not Scott nor Dad...he is Uncle Scott.

He has worked most of his adult life as a builder of custom homes. Most if not all of them spectacular creations of art, beauty and design. Thus my connection with Tom Builder. He is steady, methodical and easy going. A nice contrast to my quirky, crazy, unpredictable personality. He just never knows what is coming up next for me and rolls with it like a trooper.

I thought I would share some of his travel photos. Right after we started dating he went on a long planned trip around the world and was gone for 7 months. Don't even ask me about this time in my life...it was one sad, tearful missing my knight in shining armor time. He has also traveled to Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Fiji, Phillipines, Thailand, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Nepal and all of Europe and some islands down South that I just don't care to list. He is a scuba diver, backpacker and all around Adventurer Extraordinaire.

1980's Cliff of Étretat

 A night photo in France

Cliffs again

 China Countryside

Australia with kangaroo

Australia with dead shark. He would never kill a shark or any animal. 

Not even a bug. This shark washed up on the beach.

Living in a hut in Thailand

Climbing a palm tree in Fiji.

Years later in Thailand once again. He worked for 4 weeks on an elephant refuge and loved every minute.

Here he is with the director of the refuge, Lek.

He is one of the most thoughtful, sweetest men on this Earth. All who know him would say this about him. We are blessed in our life together. I cherish him and he cherishes me. What more is there in life?