Iowa, 1990

Another photo sent by my mom...

This was taken the day I got my Master's degree from the University of Iowa. I was 27, and I was a Graduate Assistant Coach for the wrestling team. Jen was a manager at JC Penney.

We were getting married in three weeks and were in the middle of wedding planning. A few days earlier we had closed on our new, $25K condo. You can see a moving box in the background. 

On the wall behind me is an antique mirror that belonged to Jen's grandparents, and below that is my wrestling plaque from Nationals. They are metaphors for what we each brought to the marriage.

There are two small photos in the mirror--one is me and Jen, the other is the 1960 MGA I'd bought the previous month. Jen got mad when I bought it, because I didn't discuss it with her first, and we were trying to get approved for a mortgage.

Next to the mirror is a framed picture of my sister April and her Cocker Spaniel, Daisy. Below that is our engagement photo, taken at Sears.

Within a year I was retired from wrestling, and we had moved to New Haven to chase a new dream. 

Looking back, I must've driven poor Jennifer crazy. But she can't say I was boring.