Thankfulness is a divine treat. It reminds you that you are still human, and that this world is still a family. And I don’t care how cliché or corny that sentence sounds: eat your darn corn and enjoy it.
What am I, Alex Lehr, a man of insane, impulsive and unpredictable mayhem-esque deeds and doodles thankful for? Why, how about a woman who can wrangle all of that and come out clean on top?
Amanda Charlene Dawn Lehr. I love that name. It’s like breathing in ice and fire at the same time: a cool, refreshing breeze that warms your bones. Putting aside the fact that she would strangle me for using her dreaded first name in the newspaper like this (Hi, Dawn), I believe that after three amazing, adventurous, insanely chaotic years by her side, I am definitely thankful for my wife.
She is my fine, sexy and meaty gal with a heart of diamond and looks to match. She is my co-author and my travelling companion on all the wacky, ditzy adventures.
I actually get to cheat on this opinion paper, too. By being thankful for this incredibly intelligent, musically, artistically gifted queen of mine, I am also getting to say that I am thankful for the Big Man Upstairs (in your face, guys, I get to be thankful for two in one). Here is some more clichéd, expected and “corny” dialog, so remove that husk and take a bite: God knew what he was doing when he made her.
As artist over reality, he put his artistic genius into her very soul, allowing her to create paintings and drawings that bring our characters to life and allow us to see and experience adventures beyond this world. Never before her had I seen Gron Hatchat, the hero of my book series, so wondrously brought to life until her paintings came along. She is not just my artist: she is my muse. The Greek goddess Aphrodite is hideous compared to my muse. She is my girl with the angelic singing voice, my teacher in the arts.
As such, she is also my knight in shining ballet flats and newsboy caps. Dawn is my coffee-holic and fellow gamer nerd. Our first date was over homemade pizza, ravioli and Netflix. Many more were blasting heads off of zombies and beating the living crap out of each other on “Soul Calibur V.” When I play “Final Fantasy,” she stands behind me, cheering me on and commanding me to slaughter the enemy. I love that about her. Her energy is so contagious.
She has brought me closer to God, both before and after our wedding had passed. When I have freaked over our financial situations, she was always there to calm me, and remind me that the Big Man Upstairs had us in His hands. She would read passages to me from scripture, apply it to us every single time, and then we would be off on our next adventure, hand in hand, ravenous grins on our faces as we pounded one obstacle after another. That is what Dawn is: she is both the white and black mage over my life, protecting me with tough offense and constant healing.
Dawn always smiles when she sees me, and when I see that smile I know I am alive. I know that I am real. I must be, because a smile like that does not come lightly. It is her gift to me, and dog darn it what a gift it is. She teaches me every day about the humor I have, about the imagination she is willing to share.
We argue a lot over a variety of matters, and this is something too that reminds me of her love. She loves me enough to not let me damage myself. If I forget to eat (which I do a lot), then she’ll let me hear an earful about it, because that’s just how much she loves me, how much she cares. We fight and we hold each other afterwards. The thing I have come to realize about relationships is this: screw what you read in Cosmo or the Internet and live in those relationships. Study their essence. My number one rule to it: be best friends.
If you are able to be best friends in your relationship, you know it is real, and you know that it will transform you spiritually and mentally.
I am thankful to my wife, for she has shown me that adventure not only can leap off a page, but that it must. I am thankful to God, for He is the reason for all of these things about her. He is the artist and He is the creator of muses. He created Dawn, my co-warrior and writer of a strong tale, which day by day gets more and more essence. That is because, as a main protagonist, Dawn holds the key to every new adventure in my life. She keeps me going and she keeps me happy. The smiles never end and nor do the surprises. And I will say it again: she is a total babe. Here is to looking at you, hot stuff.
Thank God for my wife, and thank God for Himself. With my two best friends in check, I make off into my next great adventure. Dawn bring your hat. I’ll bring the fake champagne we love. Let’s change the world together.
