Happy Birthday to my baby!
1 Comments Published by Oh Wayward One on 24 September 2007 at 9/24/2007 11:17:00 am.
I take lots of inspiration from my dear friend the armed goddess of everything that rocks, A., but today I take a page from her book and it's called "The Story of my Husband, on his 30th Birthday". A completely and totally birthday-centric blog post in honor of the greatest guy in the world.
The Story of my Husband, on his 30th Birthday
by: Me
On this day 30 years ago, in 1977, at approximately 8:30 in the morning, The Mr. was born.
He came into the world in his parents' bed, in the bedroom of their farmhouse in the province of Friesland, The Netherlands. The same bedroom was also the birth scene of his father, over 20 years earlier, and also of his many brothers and sisters to come. Born the first child of young dairy farmers, he was named after his mentally-challenged uncle (who would never have children and thus not carry on the family name), but many family members prefer to say it's after his Great Grandfather who also had that name. No middle name was given to him, although it is notable that subsequent children born to his parents did get middle names.
The eldest child of 6, The Mr. showed very early signs of great intelligence, independence, reliability, honesty, and diligence which would stay with him throughout his life. These were all qualities that made him adored by everyone he would meet throughout his adolescence and adulthood. If anything can be said about him, it's that he is full of all the good traits that anyone would eventually look for in a husband. His first language was Frisian, as is spoken in the homes of the residents of Friesland. It is a difficult, ancient language that dates back to the Kingdom of Fryslan which was an independent nation encompassing the lands which are now part of eastern Germany, Denmark, and northern Holland. It has many features of the Scandinavian languages, and some likenesses to dutch and even early english. Around the age of 5 or 6, he was sent to Dutch school and eventually became fluent in that language as well.
Early in his childhood it became apparent that The Mr. was deeply enamoured with tractors. Tractors became the focus of everything in his world. His father would take him for rides around the farm fields on tractors, and this was his favourite pastime. His favorite toy was a tractor. Teachers at his school complained that his artistic ability was being hampered by the fact that he refused to draw or colour anything other than tractors. Even his creative writing assignments were becoming redundant and repetitive, given that there's not a whole lot of material one can produce when it comes to the not-so-wide world of tractor-based story lines. It would therefore surprise no one when 17 years later, he decided to attend Wageningen University to study a Master's Degree in Agricultural Engineering.
As a little boy, The Mr. was very blonde. This surprised a number of people given the fact that no one in his family was blonde. Now he has brown hair, and green eyes. Other special features that draw attention to him physically, are his lovely tall, slim build (6'3", 79kg), nice legs, and a piercing in the upper rim of his left ear. This same piercing is shared with his wife (me) as well as the green eyes.
Growing up in a family who "didn't believe in sports" proved difficult for The Mr. He was an athletic child who excelled in tennis and cycling, and had a love of soccer. However, with 6 children in the family, and a full-time commitment to the 2nd-biggest dairy farm in Friesland, the parents explained to him at an early stage that they would not be able to mess around with transporting him to local sporting clubs and/or school athletic events. Eventually he would come to verbal blows and several tense situations with his parents by insisting that he would see himself through his own tennis career (he cycled or got lifts to all practices and events) as they refused to support him in his sport of choice, mainly due to the fact that there were games and training sessions on Sundays. Due to their religious convictions, this would not be acceptable in the house. He took his verbal lashings on the chin and became a Provincially-Ranked tennis player with many honors and accolades to his name. To this day his parents have never watched him play a match.
The Mr. also chose to cycle the 60-km (36 mile) round trip to school every day. His parents offered him money for bus fare but he had a tendency to get sick on buses and opted to cycle every day instead, rain or shine. His friend GB made this long journey with him every day and the two ended up being rated highest in their school for fitness, every year during the school-wide physical education fitness tests. Interestingly enough, he would be the only child of the household who would ever ride a bicycle to school. The others opted for the 1-hour-each-way bus journey funded by their parents.
Not in any way to be considered "just a sporty jock", at school The Mr. excelled in Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, and German. There is a story about how he not only performed at the highest level of any student in the school at physics, but also how he scored the highest ever (100%) on an important practical exam in chemistry, plus accumulated bonus points to technically score over 100%. He was the only student at his school to have ever accomplished that feat. However, his performance in English was notably poor, and to this day his handwriting still leaves something to be desired.
Major events of note in the Mr.'s early years included the time when he was in his mid-teens and got extremely drunk and rode his bicycle off the road, crashing into a ditch and smashing out all of his front teeth. The substantial dental re-construction that ensued cost several thousand Euros and the procedure necessitated having temporary teeth spacers placed inside his head that made him look like a very unfortunate rabbit for several months, during his prime girl-chasing years in high school. This, combined with the fact that his parents insisted he would pay for every cent of damage done, provided him with a couple of life lessons in humility and consequence, which can likely be considered some of the catalysts that created the good-natured and responsible person that he is today.
When the Mr. was 17 and began considering what he would do for the rest of his life, he started showing early signs of wanderlust. He would read the want ads in the local papers and pay special attention to those jobs that offered possibilities of overseas travel, particularly to Asia and developing countries around the globe. Unfortunately, with 5 other children running around the house and constantly breaking things and soaking up all the attention that 2 parents could possibly provide, no one seemed to notice or listen when he spoke of these things. At that same time, he opted to move to Wageningen to commence university studies, and began to enjoy college life away from the farm. He excelled in physics and mathematics, and also got a minor in Management Studies.
During his Masters' studies, the Mr. opted to do a portion of his required practical experience at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. It is during this stage of his life that he met his future wife, and author of this blog. They met at an Irish pub in Hatfield Square, introduced by Roy, my friend and his roommate. This happened less than 5 days after his arrival in the country, in the end of October 2000. It was not love at first sight, but there was an undercurrent of chemistry that needed to be sorted out and go through a few different phases before it was recognized as "soul mateship".
At a halloween party hosted by mutual friends, several days later, The Mr. and his future wife spent the entire evening talking, ignoring everyone else around them, and drinking No-Name white wine out of a box. It was on this night that they realized there was something there, so to speak. That "something" materialized as that which can only be described in hindsight as a romantic walk home together, and subsequent shacking up. In the weeks that passed, they would spend a significant amount of time together, get matching piercings, laugh a lot, and drink copious amounts of beer.
In November 2000, approximately one month after meeting, the pair would embark upon a long journey through South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe and even a brief stint in Zambia where they nearly escaped being thrown into prison. Incidents of note on this journey included 2 near death experiences (one a piece), as well as surviving a stint of getting poisoned, the near-fatal rafting of the Zambezi river, and a twilight conversation on a log in the Okavango Delta in which the Mr. expressed his interest in moving to Australia (where she was soon headed). It was at this moment that they finally verbalized the desire to stay together and not break up when they would be parting ways from South Africa within the next 2 months.
On April 7, 2001, on a visit to said girlfriend in Melbourne Australia (where her new job had taken her), The Mr. produced a lovely south african diamond ring that he had conceptually designed all by himself, on a breakfast tray, that lovely, cloudy saturday morning. The previous night had included a rowdy night out with her friends, several pitchers of Sangria and a few bouts of dancing on top of a bar at a Spanish dive in the city, so the memory of what was actually served on that breakfast tray, aside from the ring, is a bit fuzzy. However, breakfast was eaten and the proposal was enthusiastically accepted. Plans for The Mr'.s impending move to Australia were made, and they officially began their life together as fiancees, by celebrating at a cafe/bar in Port Melbourne with friends and champagne.
On March 2, 2002 the two were married in a medium-sized, snowy, nighttime ceremony in Jefferson City Missouri. It was a lovely evening and they were surrounded by friends and family from a variety of different countries. A reception was held in a nearby hotel (Jeff City's most swanky), and their limo driver sported the world's most amazing mullet, ever. They enjoyed a honeymoon in Fiji en route back to their home in Melbourne, and lived happily in the suburb of Kew until August, with 2 adopted 5-year old beagles, Reggie and Jodie. The latter name was chosen by the Mr., in honor of the lady at work who apparently made "really good muffins".
August 2002 saw the couple (and beagles) move to Ireland, but they weren't quite sure where yet. Upon travelling around the country for awhile to find the most optimum place to set up camp indefinitely, they decided on Cork. Home of the late Rory Gallagher and the place in which they were destined to forge wonderful friendships, buy a house, fine-tune their careers, and drink a lot of gin and beer. To this day they own a humble 120 year old, 3-br terrace house on Thomas Davis Street, in the inner city area of Blackpool.
The rest of the story is relatively obvious and up-to-date. In 2005 The Mr. became 50% co-0wner of an environmental and landscape consultancy in Gaborone Botswana (his wife being the 2nd owner and shareholder). They live in the bush just outside of town, amongst the crocodiles, warthogs and baboons with their 3 dogs. Over time his english has become impeccable, notwithstanding a funny hybrid accent of American, Irish, and British nuances. Additionally, he has acquired new tastes over time, such as an appreciation for red wine, extremely spicy foods, and olives. Some things, however, never change. His favourite football team is still Herenveen, the pride of Friesland. He has learned to love rugby, although soccer will always run through his veins. He can also be found gazing intently across great expanses at tractors, identifying their makes, models, and years from an impressive distance.
All in all, it can be said that the 30 years between 1977 and 2007 have been blessed infinitely in time and space by the presence of The Mr., on this planet. On this, his 30th birthday, he will be remembered and thought of fondly by so many people as absolutely one of the most adorable and admirable people on earth.
The Story of my Husband, on his 30th Birthday
by: Me
On this day 30 years ago, in 1977, at approximately 8:30 in the morning, The Mr. was born.
He came into the world in his parents' bed, in the bedroom of their farmhouse in the province of Friesland, The Netherlands. The same bedroom was also the birth scene of his father, over 20 years earlier, and also of his many brothers and sisters to come. Born the first child of young dairy farmers, he was named after his mentally-challenged uncle (who would never have children and thus not carry on the family name), but many family members prefer to say it's after his Great Grandfather who also had that name. No middle name was given to him, although it is notable that subsequent children born to his parents did get middle names.
The eldest child of 6, The Mr. showed very early signs of great intelligence, independence, reliability, honesty, and diligence which would stay with him throughout his life. These were all qualities that made him adored by everyone he would meet throughout his adolescence and adulthood. If anything can be said about him, it's that he is full of all the good traits that anyone would eventually look for in a husband. His first language was Frisian, as is spoken in the homes of the residents of Friesland. It is a difficult, ancient language that dates back to the Kingdom of Fryslan which was an independent nation encompassing the lands which are now part of eastern Germany, Denmark, and northern Holland. It has many features of the Scandinavian languages, and some likenesses to dutch and even early english. Around the age of 5 or 6, he was sent to Dutch school and eventually became fluent in that language as well.
Early in his childhood it became apparent that The Mr. was deeply enamoured with tractors. Tractors became the focus of everything in his world. His father would take him for rides around the farm fields on tractors, and this was his favourite pastime. His favorite toy was a tractor. Teachers at his school complained that his artistic ability was being hampered by the fact that he refused to draw or colour anything other than tractors. Even his creative writing assignments were becoming redundant and repetitive, given that there's not a whole lot of material one can produce when it comes to the not-so-wide world of tractor-based story lines. It would therefore surprise no one when 17 years later, he decided to attend Wageningen University to study a Master's Degree in Agricultural Engineering.
As a little boy, The Mr. was very blonde. This surprised a number of people given the fact that no one in his family was blonde. Now he has brown hair, and green eyes. Other special features that draw attention to him physically, are his lovely tall, slim build (6'3", 79kg), nice legs, and a piercing in the upper rim of his left ear. This same piercing is shared with his wife (me) as well as the green eyes.
Growing up in a family who "didn't believe in sports" proved difficult for The Mr. He was an athletic child who excelled in tennis and cycling, and had a love of soccer. However, with 6 children in the family, and a full-time commitment to the 2nd-biggest dairy farm in Friesland, the parents explained to him at an early stage that they would not be able to mess around with transporting him to local sporting clubs and/or school athletic events. Eventually he would come to verbal blows and several tense situations with his parents by insisting that he would see himself through his own tennis career (he cycled or got lifts to all practices and events) as they refused to support him in his sport of choice, mainly due to the fact that there were games and training sessions on Sundays. Due to their religious convictions, this would not be acceptable in the house. He took his verbal lashings on the chin and became a Provincially-Ranked tennis player with many honors and accolades to his name. To this day his parents have never watched him play a match.
The Mr. also chose to cycle the 60-km (36 mile) round trip to school every day. His parents offered him money for bus fare but he had a tendency to get sick on buses and opted to cycle every day instead, rain or shine. His friend GB made this long journey with him every day and the two ended up being rated highest in their school for fitness, every year during the school-wide physical education fitness tests. Interestingly enough, he would be the only child of the household who would ever ride a bicycle to school. The others opted for the 1-hour-each-way bus journey funded by their parents.
Not in any way to be considered "just a sporty jock", at school The Mr. excelled in Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, and German. There is a story about how he not only performed at the highest level of any student in the school at physics, but also how he scored the highest ever (100%) on an important practical exam in chemistry, plus accumulated bonus points to technically score over 100%. He was the only student at his school to have ever accomplished that feat. However, his performance in English was notably poor, and to this day his handwriting still leaves something to be desired.
Major events of note in the Mr.'s early years included the time when he was in his mid-teens and got extremely drunk and rode his bicycle off the road, crashing into a ditch and smashing out all of his front teeth. The substantial dental re-construction that ensued cost several thousand Euros and the procedure necessitated having temporary teeth spacers placed inside his head that made him look like a very unfortunate rabbit for several months, during his prime girl-chasing years in high school. This, combined with the fact that his parents insisted he would pay for every cent of damage done, provided him with a couple of life lessons in humility and consequence, which can likely be considered some of the catalysts that created the good-natured and responsible person that he is today.
When the Mr. was 17 and began considering what he would do for the rest of his life, he started showing early signs of wanderlust. He would read the want ads in the local papers and pay special attention to those jobs that offered possibilities of overseas travel, particularly to Asia and developing countries around the globe. Unfortunately, with 5 other children running around the house and constantly breaking things and soaking up all the attention that 2 parents could possibly provide, no one seemed to notice or listen when he spoke of these things. At that same time, he opted to move to Wageningen to commence university studies, and began to enjoy college life away from the farm. He excelled in physics and mathematics, and also got a minor in Management Studies.
During his Masters' studies, the Mr. opted to do a portion of his required practical experience at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. It is during this stage of his life that he met his future wife, and author of this blog. They met at an Irish pub in Hatfield Square, introduced by Roy, my friend and his roommate. This happened less than 5 days after his arrival in the country, in the end of October 2000. It was not love at first sight, but there was an undercurrent of chemistry that needed to be sorted out and go through a few different phases before it was recognized as "soul mateship".
At a halloween party hosted by mutual friends, several days later, The Mr. and his future wife spent the entire evening talking, ignoring everyone else around them, and drinking No-Name white wine out of a box. It was on this night that they realized there was something there, so to speak. That "something" materialized as that which can only be described in hindsight as a romantic walk home together, and subsequent shacking up. In the weeks that passed, they would spend a significant amount of time together, get matching piercings, laugh a lot, and drink copious amounts of beer.
In November 2000, approximately one month after meeting, the pair would embark upon a long journey through South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe and even a brief stint in Zambia where they nearly escaped being thrown into prison. Incidents of note on this journey included 2 near death experiences (one a piece), as well as surviving a stint of getting poisoned, the near-fatal rafting of the Zambezi river, and a twilight conversation on a log in the Okavango Delta in which the Mr. expressed his interest in moving to Australia (where she was soon headed). It was at this moment that they finally verbalized the desire to stay together and not break up when they would be parting ways from South Africa within the next 2 months.
On April 7, 2001, on a visit to said girlfriend in Melbourne Australia (where her new job had taken her), The Mr. produced a lovely south african diamond ring that he had conceptually designed all by himself, on a breakfast tray, that lovely, cloudy saturday morning. The previous night had included a rowdy night out with her friends, several pitchers of Sangria and a few bouts of dancing on top of a bar at a Spanish dive in the city, so the memory of what was actually served on that breakfast tray, aside from the ring, is a bit fuzzy. However, breakfast was eaten and the proposal was enthusiastically accepted. Plans for The Mr'.s impending move to Australia were made, and they officially began their life together as fiancees, by celebrating at a cafe/bar in Port Melbourne with friends and champagne.
On March 2, 2002 the two were married in a medium-sized, snowy, nighttime ceremony in Jefferson City Missouri. It was a lovely evening and they were surrounded by friends and family from a variety of different countries. A reception was held in a nearby hotel (Jeff City's most swanky), and their limo driver sported the world's most amazing mullet, ever. They enjoyed a honeymoon in Fiji en route back to their home in Melbourne, and lived happily in the suburb of Kew until August, with 2 adopted 5-year old beagles, Reggie and Jodie. The latter name was chosen by the Mr., in honor of the lady at work who apparently made "really good muffins".
August 2002 saw the couple (and beagles) move to Ireland, but they weren't quite sure where yet. Upon travelling around the country for awhile to find the most optimum place to set up camp indefinitely, they decided on Cork. Home of the late Rory Gallagher and the place in which they were destined to forge wonderful friendships, buy a house, fine-tune their careers, and drink a lot of gin and beer. To this day they own a humble 120 year old, 3-br terrace house on Thomas Davis Street, in the inner city area of Blackpool.
The rest of the story is relatively obvious and up-to-date. In 2005 The Mr. became 50% co-0wner of an environmental and landscape consultancy in Gaborone Botswana (his wife being the 2nd owner and shareholder). They live in the bush just outside of town, amongst the crocodiles, warthogs and baboons with their 3 dogs. Over time his english has become impeccable, notwithstanding a funny hybrid accent of American, Irish, and British nuances. Additionally, he has acquired new tastes over time, such as an appreciation for red wine, extremely spicy foods, and olives. Some things, however, never change. His favourite football team is still Herenveen, the pride of Friesland. He has learned to love rugby, although soccer will always run through his veins. He can also be found gazing intently across great expanses at tractors, identifying their makes, models, and years from an impressive distance.
All in all, it can be said that the 30 years between 1977 and 2007 have been blessed infinitely in time and space by the presence of The Mr., on this planet. On this, his 30th birthday, he will be remembered and thought of fondly by so many people as absolutely one of the most adorable and admirable people on earth.
Cheers!! Happy Happy Birthday, Mr.
xoxoxo,
Crazy SK