It's Ralph's birthday today!

DH Ralph is 60 today! And it's his weekend to work, so he had to be up and out early.

I first met Ralph when he was 21 and I was 17. Our local paper published the names of local servicepeople who were in Vietnam, and I sent him a Christmas card. We wrote for a little bit, but he's the world's worst writer, so we started sending cassette tapes back and forth. When he came home the end of June, we met, and started going out.

Ralph was a plumber in the family biz when I met him. Then his dad retired, and he went to work for someone else. Construction plumbers are out of work a lot of the winter, and he decided to go to college. We already were married, had a house and Heather and that point. VA money helped put him thru school, and he got a BSN and started working as an ER nurse.

He's been a nurse for 27 years now! His nurse manager calls Ralph their "go to guy". His big hobby is fixing computers, and I think he's fixed every in the ER's computer at least once.

Last August Ralph developed a sudden terrible headache with awful nausea. He was diagnosed with a benign brain tumor- how scary is that?! And the fabulous neurosurgeon Dr. Turtz removed it thru his nose! Didn't even shave off his mustache!

That was the hardest thing we've been thru. I wasn't sure Ralph's mom and I would survive that week. The night before they operated, I was on my way home from the hospital at 4 a.m. and I had a long conversation with his dad and my dad, the world's most unlikely angels. I asked that they keep him safe for me and Florence and my girls, as we weren't ready to lose him. Either Joe and Rocco had some influence with God, or it just wasn't Ralph's time, because he came thru the surgery wonderfully, and was home 48 hours later.

When Ralph was able to go back to work, I convinced him to go part time- 2 12 hours shifts per week instead of 3. The mortgage is paid off, we don't have to pay for college anymore, and we could afford the cut in pay. It's made a tremendous in his quality of life- he looks so much better and less stressed.

We're having a joint birthday party next weekend for Ralph and our grandson Eddie, who will be 5 on Tuesday. Manda is even coming home for it!

Happy Birthday Ralph! We love you!