Meatloaf

No, this is technically NOT about meatloaf---the kind your mother made when you were growing up...the kind you either loved or hated...the "mystery meat" at school...etc.

To be honest, I really cannot cook. Lord knows I've tried. Somehow, C1 got the cooking genes, and I am forever grateful to her for making dinner throughout our busy week. We (and by we, I mean she) has yet to conquer the recipe for meatloaf or even had the desire to do so. I digress...

Where were you in 1993? How old were you? What styles were popular then? What music did you listen to on your cassette tapes (yes, those existed then)?
I was 12.
I was in that awkward stage of whatthehellareyouwearing combined with areyouseriouslygoingtowearthat with a little bit of pleasefortheloveofgoddon'twearthat thrown in.
My mother has threatened to release actual photos from this awkward time period, but so far, I've dodged that bullet.
And, Mother, just so you know, that would be social suicide for me.
Thankyouverymuch.
*Ahem*

Anyway, I was 12. Single. Ugly. An introvert. The one thing that brought me joy and pulled me out of my shell was music. It wasn't any certain kind...I just LOVE music. To this day, I'll pretty much listen to anything as long as there are no curse words.
I tried to keep up with the latest hits, and, to be honest, I preferred country music. During this awkward time in my life, though, I chose to branch out a bit.
(I promise you I'm going somewhere with this...)
I remember the first time I heard him sing. I was riding in the car on the way to violin lessons in A-Town. We lived in a small town roughly an hour away at that time. So, I hear this voice...this song...and I was perplexed.
The singer was Meatloaf. The song was "I Would Do Anything For Love."
Now, this begs the question: What won't Meatloaf do for love?
Better yet, why is he calling himself Meatloaf?
I personally like Mother's meatloaf, so that word doesn't leave a bad taste in my mouth (pun completely intended). Not until I saw a picture of Mr. Meatloaf did I fully appreciate the song, the man, and my current situation.
That stupid song has been stuck in my brain since that day. It sneaks out every now and then, usually around 2am when my brain seems to think I need to relive my awkward childhood moments *shudder*

Ohhhhkkkkkkkk....so this brings me to the whole entire point of my blog.
I knew there were limits to what I would do for love. I mean, if you are a respectable young lady then you have boundaries. BOUNDARIES, I SAY! (That was for my girls) So, Meatloaf sings, "And I would do annnyyyything for loooove, but I won't do that...oh, no I won't do that." Well, what is that? I found out over my years of adulting just what "that" really is. Honestly, I wish some lessons weren't so hard to learn. :/

It wasn't until I married K that I truly understood what someone would do if they loved YOU enough. It's almost like he's never heard Mr. Meatloaf's song (I just like calling him that, mmmkkk?), and he doesn't have a single thing he wouldn't do for love...or for the love of me.
For instance...
Let's look at Halloween 2016, the good ol' 31st of October, where we all act like kids and play dress up. Now, I have NEVER dressed up as an adult, and by adult I mean since the age of 15. Seriously. I've been adulting almost that long, I'm afraid.
This year was going to be different. Heck, I've got one C almost old enough to move out of the house, one C almost too cool for his mother, and once C who love love loves anything to do with dress up and still enjoys being a kid. I literally waited until lunch time on the 31st to purchase costumes, mainly because no one knew what they wanted to be. After spending an hour in the biggest costume store EVER, I decided on Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf for me and K. It was gonna be a hit! I finished my work, left at the normal 5pm, and began the 30+ minute drive home. When I arrived, all 3 C's rushed me wanting their costumes. I mean, after all, it was getting dark soon! After passing them out, I gave K a crooked smile and pulled our costumes out of the bag. His was AWESOME. The mask was amazing. I was super excited. I pulled my costume out of its package, and...............................................................................................
um...............................................................................................
well, there must be some mistake.
The Little Red Riding Hood costume was missing THE RED CAPE.
No cape.
No sign of a cape being present at any point.
Just a dress. And cuffs for my wrists. And a basket.
NO. RED. CAPE.

I sighed heavily, dropping my chin to my chest. I admit, I began to cry a little bit.
My feelings were so hurt. After all, the costume store was 45 minutes away. There was no way I could fix this problem. I had no red table cloth, no red shirt, no red ANYTHING in my house.
K, seeing me in such distress, grabbed my costume, put it back in the bag, and grabbed his keys. I gave him a perplexed look, and as he walked out the door he said, "I'll be back in a minute." I could see where this was going. He was on his way to return my costume and get one with a red cape! I begged him to just forget about it. I told him over and over that I had never dressed up as an adult, and I really didn't need to start now. After all, this evening was about the kids, not me.
He just turned and walked out the door. I literally sat there amazed. K drove alllll the way back in to A-Town, argued with the clerk at the costume store, got a cape from another costume bag, and drove allllll the way back home in record time.
All for me.
The red cape was wonderful. Heck, we all looked great. I was able to walk around from door to door with K and the kids, everyone dressed in costumes, and thoroughly enjoy myself! Here's proof:

After the kids were in bed that night, I laid next to K and watched tv with him. I turned to him and said, "You know what? That is literally the nicest thing any man has ever done for me. I mean, truly the NICEST thing. You have no idea how special that made me feel." He just smiled and said, "Well, I love you. I'd do anything for you and anything to make you happy."

So, unlike Mr. Meatloaf, K will do anything for love....and he doesn't expect a single thing in return.

All of my awkward moments growing up, all of my heartaches as a young adult...all of it brought me to where I am now. There is a man named K who will do anything for love---or better yet, for the woman he loves. I really need to learn to cook for him. Maybe make him some meatloaf sometime.
Ya, I'm good with that. :)

~Andy