I married above my head and out of my league. I'm not sure how I got so lucky, and sometimes I still pinch myself to make sure it's all real.
Undoubtedly, we have been privileged, and we have had the opportunity to do so many fun, exotic things together--but the truest blessing has been in the everyday details. Despite 30 years, Russ has done more and lived more than most lifetimes and so few people get to know all the facets of him. He moves effortlessly between construction workers, gym rats, GOB's (good 'ol boys) at the airport, ropers and society. I am more intrigued, more amazed and more in love with this boy that I knew was possible when we said 'I do' almost 7 years ago. Russell and I have absolutely grown up together. I know him better than I know myself, but for most people, he remains full of mysteries and random surprises. In the 8 years we've been together, I have witnessed the transformation from a college boy to a man that runs a large company and leads his house. So, if you think you know him well...
1. He is a fantastic highway contractor. Most people know that he works for the family company, Lindsey Contractors. But, they don't realize that he can shovel asphalt tirelessly and put a whole crew to shame, that his bottom teeth are crooked from being hit with a chunk of concrete, that he gets called constantly overnight with questions from his guys, that he obseses about the weather or that he absolutely breathes, sweats, lives and prays about his work.
2. There's a part of Russ that is pure cowboy country, despite the more often seen Dallas metrosexual look. He professionally rodeod--steer wrestling and calf roping--before we met. And, he has the scars to prove it.
3. He is a pilot--a great one. Russell flies fixed wing planes and helicopters, VFR/IFR and multiengine. He got his helicopter liscence on my 21st birthday and took me up for my first rotorwing flight! Am I scared? Not a bit. What if he crashes? I hope we're in there together.
4. He is intensely loyal.
5. He makes a fantastic 'blue steel' face.
6. While we were engaged, Russell was standing on the platform on the back of an oil distributor and a small truck ran up under the platform after the driver fell asleep or had a heart attack. The impact threw Russell into the air, over the machine. He landed on his feet and escaped without any serious injuries. His hat from that day is covered in oil, but I've always saved it as a reminder of how precious and fragile life can be. It hangs in our closet and reminds me daily to pray for Russell's health and safety.
7. Russell is ticklish. He has dimples and a little boy laugh. He is witty and downright silly.
8. He is a softy with little girls, and with me.
9. Russ is always trying to improve his Christian walk. He actively tries to make his life and his work a ministry. He is continually encouraging me in my faith and is very conscious of God's blessings on our family.
10. "Russell Lindsey--You are Ironman." He is an amazing triathlete. Russell did Ironman Arizona last year. He's done two half Ironman triathlons (California & Kansas), and he's actually competing in a half ironman in San Diego today! He started working out like a feign when I was in med school to pass the time, and it has turned into quite a passion. His dedication and endurance surpass my comprehension.
11. There is a very soft, romantic side to Russell Lindsey. The night we got engaged, he planned a suprise dinner at Dakota's in Dallas, and when I thought we were flying back to Waco, he got down on his knee in the aisle of the plane, overlooking the nighttime Dallas skyline and proposed. I managed a 'yes' before I passed out (literally). We had champagne & chocolate covered strawberries until we landed in--surprise!--Abilene, greeted by all my family.
12. He is a fan of 'pallet nights'--staying in, making a pallet with tons of pillows & Grandma's quilt and watching a movie.
13. The boy is a dreamer--and a schemer. He is always trying to come up with ways to improve and things to build; the plans are nothing short of elaborate.
14. He has impeccable manners. Russell is the gentlemans' gentleman. He opens and holds all doors. He stands when I come to or leave a table. He always walks on the outside. He never walks a step ahead. It struck me as magnificently romantic when I first met him, and now living in the midst of big city rudeness, I am ever more thankful for the piece of old fashioned couture that Russell maintains.
15. Russ is an absolute germ freak. I've broken him of a little of this just by being post-call hospital gross, but he still loves his antibacterial soap and is always washing in the stuff up to his elbows. Pretty much, if he sees you and hesitates to shake your hand, he thinks your dirty and potentially infectious.
16. Russell was in the Corp of Cadets at Texas A&M. The service and the structure part of isn't too hard to imagine, but most people are surprised that the fun loving, metrosexual spent his college days military style. He was almost bald when we met; I've told him since then that I would have married him just for his hair---and I didn't even know what a living shampoo commercial he was, at the time.
17. My I-35 warrior. Russell is a saint. He commutes 107 miles each way to work in Waco--everyday--so that I can be close to the hospital in Dallas. We've often joked (although, sadly, it's true) that Russell 'drove away his 20's'. I appreciate his daily sacrifice more than he could ever know, and I certainly don't say thank you often enough. His highway life terrifies me, too, because I know he's driving with one knee, talking on the phone, sipping coffee, eating, looking at skid marks on the road, singing along with the radio and trying to reschedule 300 people & move equipment all at the same time. Russell's safety is something I really do pray about incessantly.
18. Russ is a Starbucks snob. His order(s) basically require a masters degree for interpretation. 2 splenda, double espresso, skinny vanilla lattes are a staple, and 2 splenda iced green tea lattes, hold the melon, no water are a frequent afernoon, witches' brew treat.
19. He has to have his back scratched to fall asleep, but he is unphased by having the lights on (a la med school study mode).
20. He hates crying.
21. Russell has a great baritone voice.
22. He is already a fantastic daddy. Russ talks to Leighton everynight. She moves towards the sound of his voice, and she will kick back everytime he pushes on her. He has been more excited about this little girl than I ever dreamed possible.
23. He makes me want to grow old.
24. He is my biggest fan, encourager, confidant, pusher and coach. He is my safety from the pregnancy nightmares. He is my best friend. He is my better half.
25. The boy needs serious A/C (like 69 degrees or less) and clean sheets to sleep well.
26. Underneath the immaculate exterior, there are socks with holes so large that his toes pop out of them. They only get thrown away if I catch them in the laundry.
27. His favorite foods are slumgullion (a Lindsey family concoction of canned spaghetti, ground beef and pork & beans), raisin bran cereal, purple G2, and chic fila. He ate innumerable variations of ground turkey, pasta and eggs while I was in med school (poor thing). He loves things spicy but cannot handle hot temperature.
28. He still has a baby face without the ghotti, and he routinely gets carded.
29. Russ hates to read, but he is brilliant beyond what he lets show. He will look over my shoulder when I'm doing medical questions, and somehow he gets almost every answer right. Why have I gone to school for 27 years if it's that easy? Then, he'll cop out and tell you he could just tell by how the question was written.
30. He is crazy mehanical...like tear the asphalt plant apart in the middle of the night and then rebuild it with a bicycle chain and two paperclips using the car headlight for illumination...hence, a few of the many 3:51 AM dash shots like below. He is not afraid to get dirty, and he has come home many-a-day covered from head to toe in some combination of dirt, rocks and oil.
We met when Russ was 21, and he had me from the start. Happy birthday, Russ!
