Because I so very much appreciate Cody for rescuing me from fried chicken stuffed animals and crinkled love poems, I would like to take a minute to highlight all the reasons I love Cody Wayne Prater.
The first Valentine's Day I ever spent with Cody was our second semester of college. We were not technically "together", although we were very much on the path to being in a relationship. He got me flowers, a stuffed dog, a pink painted BMW toy car, and a "self-portrait" that he drew himself. I had apparently mentioned wanting all of those things in some capacity in the months that I had spent getting to know Cody. I remember sitting on my bed that Valentine's night. He told me his rationale for buying (or making) all of the gifts and I realized I was in a little deeper than I previously thought. I spent a really long time trying to deny my relationship with Cody. I don't think I was ready to be someone's girlfriend, a title I had fulfilled for only brief, unsuccessful stints in junior high or high school. I thought I liked Cody, but I thought being his girlfriend seemed too much for me.
I remember after he left my apartment that night I started to cry in true 18 year old girl fashion. I was so thankful and happy that I had found a guy that liked me enough to be so sweet to me. It seemed so out of the norm. I had never had a guy really show me any sort of extra attention. All my life I had boys interested in me in half-hearted ways; never enough to pick me over a more traditional choice (i.e. girls who were not 6 feet tall or who didn't lean a bit to the serious side even as a teenager or who wore makeup on a regular basis - it's ok to be jealous of adolescent Katy by the way). I had never had the right stuff to really impress a guy so that he would want to go out of his way to be good to me (with the exception of chicken stuffed animal guy).
Tomorrow will be our 8th Valentine's Day together. March 1st of this year will be our 8 year anniversary of being a couple. We never took any breaks. There were never many bumps in the road. We signed on 8 years ago and have never really looked back (except for this one night in the parking lot of the Links when we nearly talked ourselves out of love).
One of the weirdest things about life is the way that somewhat insignificant decisions people make sometimes end up literally mapping out huge chunks of their existence. As a freshman in college I was scared to death of being in a relationship. I thought I liked Cody, but it never really crossed my mind that I might love him or be in a serious relationship with him or certainly marry him. We were young. We were strongly in like. We enjoyed spending time together. We took all the same classes. We didn't know the magnitude of those simple days when we fell a little more in love each minute we spent together. I realize now that all of those afternoons of college algebra homework and riding around in his jeep and making out on his bed for hours and hours and hours would ever lead here. I never paid that much attention to all of the little moments that eventually connected to write the only love story of my life. I didn't know we would be where we are today, but I always knew Cody was worth holding onto.
Cody has been the most constant force in my life in the last decade. He has done right by me for 8 years. He has never said a cross word to me or treated me with anything other than respect and love. He is a good, good man that I often times wonder how in the world I ever convinced to be with me. And beyond being a good guy, Cody creates more fun in my life than I ever could have imagined. He has taken that too-serious-tall-kid from high school and smoothed my edges both in my relationship with him and also in my relationships with other people. He has taught me how to loosen up and laugh a little more and be a little silly. He has made every day of the past 8 years a lot of fun. He is truly the best thing in my life.
On occasion, I find myself taking inventory of my world. It is nice to take the time to note all of the good stuff in my life. As I list the blessings I have around me, it is always Cody who I am almost surprised to see standing next to me. I have always had a great family. I have always had good friends. I always knew somewhere inside of me that coaching volleyball as an adult would be a pretty cool way to pass my days. However, I didn't always know that I would find a good man. As a teenager I didn't sit around and dream of the man I would marry, because finding a boyfriend was outside of my realm of daily thought, much less finding a husband. Needless to say, Cody is the best decision I have ever made. I am certainly glad that 15 year old Katy knew better than to settle for fried chicken stuffed animals and crinkled love poems. Compromises can be made anywhere other than in love.
In honor of this husband of mine, I will leave you with a few pictures that truly capture the essence of Cody Prater.
