Happy Birthday Fran

I'm Fran's husband, Kevin.  It’s Fran’s birthday and my goal is to free her up for doing anything she wants.  As part of that effort, I offered (and she foolishly accepted my offer) to develop a post for her today.  You, her loyal followers, will unfortunately be paying the price.  

Four years and 109 days ago, Fran and I got married.  I was, and continue to be, the most fortunate man on the planet.  That’s not to say the people on the space station are more fortunate (they're not "on" this planet).  It’s just an expression.  Anyway, here is a picture Fran after our Wedding Mass looking radiant; my right arm is featured prominently.  

Without knowing it, this day was also the day that my understanding of and appreciation for home décor changed.  Prior to marriage, my décor style could most aptly be described as Early American Dorm Room.  And, since Fran was moving into the house I had purchased some four years earlier, she had her work cut out for her.  Down came my Michigan (U of M) flag, which had hung prominently and proudly over my fireplace since I had moved in.  And my aspirations to put a urinal in the upstairs bathroom vanished, as did my dreams of incorporating an authentic Guinness kegerator into the kitchen.  But with these dashed hopes came personal growth.  I now know what a color wheel is and how it’s used.  I can recognize campaign furniture from fifty feet away.  And if I see a room that is well styled, I can recognize it as such (though I could never do it myself).  And I don’t commonly tell people this but I even look at some of your design blogs.

I thought about posting the details of one or two rooms from our house and explaining (in detail) all of the changes that Fran has made.  But Fran would do a better job at that; I would loose sight of the big picture in my rush to explain all of the details.  Not to mention, you have already seen many of the changes: our bedroom, Luke’s big boy room, our living room, etc.  But what I can’t really convey are the intangibles.  She took a house that was nothing to look at and turned it into a beautiful, comfortable home.  A friend came by recently and mentioned, “you can feel the love radiating from every room in this house.”  Fran created that.  And I’m not just talking about paint, rugs, and end tables (though there certainly is that).  She exudes kindness, thoughtfulness, generosity, patience, and selflessness.  And you can feel it in this house.  Another friend said that she took something that was “in rough shape” and turned it into something worthwhile.  The question is: was this friend referring to the house or me?  That’s still an open question in my mind.

Happy Birthday Fran.  Ich liebe dich, mein liebchen.