So, I married a Jock...

Kent's X-mas wish list included having all his medals, memorabilia, and general "stuff" from his mother's basement. Since Kent made this request the boxes have been literally POURING into our home and since then I have learned something I only had only begun to acknowledge before... I married a real JOCK! Kent's swimming career went so much deeper than I realized before!

Over dinner this X-mas Elaine and I started talking about Kent and his swimming and I described how much I underestimated it because Kent rarely swims anymore, even on vacations, and he didn't swim in college. Elaine told me the sad story of Kent coming home from his freshman year of college. He was unable to make "a splash" at Iowa State. He thought he was going to be a big swimmer and engineering student there. Somehow, things didn't work out as expected and Kent came home to regroup and "figure out a new plan".

I had a similar conversation with my friend Sara on this very topic of that crucial first year at college. It is dangerous, although rewarding as well, to put so much stake in certain talents. If you are identified too strongly with something it is hard to figure out something else when that doesn't work out for you or when you somehow get lost in the crowd.

Anyhow, I'm having a week where I fall in love again with another part of my husband. I find every so often there is a time when I uncover new deeper reasons to love him as I continually learn more and more about him. This time its a younger part of Kent. I look in these pictures and recognize that same twinkle in his eye he has today.

I've also learned that if this baby will look anything like "Baby Kent" we will have one adorable baby (esp. mixed with a little Obert/Wuennemann good looks). Part of me is glad Kent is not an "in your face and everything up front" kind of person. His stories take awhile to come out and it takes a lot of patience to listen to him... Mom and I laugh about the way Kent tells a story because it usually starts with some statement that makes sense to no one but him. After that he follows up with something starting with, "Well...." then a long story after that. It will probably be one of the only things you hear out of him the whole day (unless your me and then you hear a lot more of them).

Kent was hard to love at the beginning as he fought it kicking and screaming. Then once your in his heart he's even harder to stop loving.

Kent and I will celebrate our first date/kiss on January 1, 2008. It will be seven years.