Today, Jennifer and I celebrated 16 years of marriage. I had planned to take her to Copenhagen but alas Covid-19 had other ideas. Instead we took a brief stroll in the sunshine through one of the local parks and spent the rest of the day in our apartment. We cooked together; watched Teen Wolf1 and reflected on the many happy years we have spent together so far.
I love Jennifer just as much today as the day I first laid eyes on her. She was a sophomore at College of Charleston, South Carolina; I was participating in an overseas placement as part of my American Studies degree. It was love at first sight. There were butterflies; nervous dates; and many long conversations sharing our passions and interests with each other.
While we have a few songs that we call our own, the one that most reminds me of Jennifer is ‘She Bangs the Drums’ by The Stone Roses. It perfectly captures how I felt every time I saw her back in Charleston when we started dating; and it continues to capture how I feel now, 20 years later. I’ll let Ian Brown and John Squire take it from here:
I don’t feel too steady on my feet
I feel hollow, I feel weak
Passion fruit and holy bread
Fill my guts and ease my head
Through the early morning sun
I can see her here she comesShe bangs the drums
Have you seen her have you heard
The way she plays there are no words
To describe the way I feelHow could it ever come to pass
She’ll be the first she’ll be the last
To describe the way I feel
The way I feel
I look forward to the next sixteen years of marriage, knowing she will be the first and last to describe the way I feel!