Happy Birthday Kristi
Last Saturday we celebrated the birth of our nation. On Sunday, there was another birthday that deserves a tremendous celebration as well. Kristi Lynn Richardson was born to Mel and Dixie Richardson. Mel and Dixie had four children already. And while Pam, Mark, Lance, and Todd were very wonderful kids, it’s obvious they saved the best for last!
Bob and Lisa Hale introduced Kristi and I a couple of years after Shannon left for her next chapter. We met at a Hillcrest football game and I immediately knew she was out of my league. But the male ego in me told me to go for it, so I asked her if I could take her to dinner sometime. I was relieved when she said yes. Now I have told you what day Kristi was born on, but I didn’t and won’t tell you what year. Let’s just say she is younger than I am and leave it at that. I remember her asking me once if the age difference bothered me, and I replied, “Let’s me think. I’m the older man with the hot younger woman. Yeah, I can live with that!”
The first thing I noticed about Kristi is her overwhelming love of family. Kristi is a wonderful Mom and there isn’t anything she wouldn’t do for her two sons Jeff and Carter. She has done an excellent job raising them to be polite, respectful, and caring young men. She is a thoughtful, compassionate, and loving person and all of her nieces, nephews, and their kids love her so much. She also reaches out to help anyone she can anytime she can. She has gone out of her way several times to help people that are going through a rough time in their life. It is very inspiring to witness.
Another thing I love about Kristi is how kind-hearted and loving she has been with my family. She treats all of them with love and respect and I can’t tell you how much that means to me. Her capacity to show that much love and kindness is just one of her many strong qualities and I love her for all of them.
I want her to know how much I appreciate all the support she gives me and her patience. I have always said I need to be the kind of man Shannon can be proud of, which is still true. But now I need to be the kind of man Kristi can be proud of as well. I know without any doubt Shannon is so happy that I have Kristi is in my life and she greatly appreciates the love and respect she has for our family. I consider myself extremely blessed to have the strength and guidance of these two amazing and compassionate women. Kristi, I’m glad you had a happy birthday and thank you again for all your love and support. I Love You. Thanks for reading.
Next week: Covid-19 Update
P.S. I know Shannon is incredibly happy for me. I also know there is a small part of her telling Kristi, “Welcome to my world!”