October 28

Vikki Lynn Jenkin and I were married October 28, 2006.

It rained. It snowed. Hail. Sleet. Thunder and lightning. It was hot. It was cold. A tornado warning in the Youngstown area. Not in any particular order, of course. But, it happened.

And… a gigantic rainbow just before dusk.

The whole thing took all day. Seriously. The ceremony. Multiple photo shoots. A formal dinner. I began to doubt whether we would survive the day.

We did.

Youngstown to Cleveland. Cleveland to Newark. Newark to Atlanta. Atlanta to Montego Bay. And, finally, it was just us.

Everything since has been a blur.

Not me. Not her. We. It has always been, “us.” We’re a set. A pair. Partners. You don’t get one without the other. Family is everything. We are thunder and lightning. The King and the Queen. A Prince and a Princess live in our home, too.

It’s a lesson not everybody learns. I said it before and, yes, here we go, again.

Family is EVERYTHING. Loyalty. Commitment. Sophia and Miles know it. They live it. You mess with one, you’ve threatened the tribe. The Three Musketeers don’t have a thing on the fightin’ Griffinskis.

I said that to say this. Sometimes – although, I’ll never admit it publicly – but, SOMETIMES, I do something or say something ONLY to antagonize my wife. Marital privileges.

One of my favorite paths to irritation is counting how many years we’ve been married. It’s a running dispute. Even our children, exceptionally even-tempered and intellectually gifted, side with their mother on this point!

I say we’ve been married 21 years. Vikki, and the babies, claim it’s 20 years.

Let me explain…

In horse racing, a thoroughbred is dated and aged according to the year in which they were born. Thus, a horse born December 31 gets credit for that entire year. January 1 or Day 365, they are the SAME AGE as of the following New Year’s Day.

I think of our marriage in the same way. We should get credit for the entire year.

WHY? I’m glad you asked.

Vikki is a thoroughbred. She is hot-blooded and cool-tempered. Gifted with agility and speed. Blessed with spirit and courage. She is the standard against which all others are measured. Her ancestry can be traced through the ages. Mrs. Griffin is the benchmark of excellence in the thoroughbred community.

Secretariat and Vikki. She sits at the head of the table in the Hall Of Champions. (Or, sleeps in the lushest stall in the barn.) Whatever works.

I won the Triple Crown when she said, “I do.”

I hope the race never ends. There aren’t enough roses.

THAT’S why it’s 21 years. So you know.