Dear Scott Wolf (aka Bailey Salinger from Party of 5),

I really thought you'd marry me one day. Really. I thought I'd be walking through the mall. You'd be there. Our eyes would meet. And off to Hollywood we'd go together.

Well, I don't know much about your life, but I am the luckiest girl that our paths never crossed. That's because I married the best guy. Period. His name is Chris Corkery. I sometimes call him Kiki. He's my best friend. 

Sincerely, 

Sarah

Before marrying Chris, we discussed my list of six criteria that were non-negotiable. Every girl should have her own list. My Marriage Pre-Qualification List:

1. I need an equal partner.
2. I need someone that wants to spend time with me.
3. I need someone who will dream with me. 
4. I need someone who likes to have fun and do exciting things. 
5. I need someone who has similar beliefs as me.
6. I need someone who is willing to help me with stuff. 

Chris fit every one. And I'm amazed at almost 10 years later, I can still say they hold true.  

This is us on our wedding day. Lucy said, "You got married in a field?!" 

Do you know what I see now? 1. Wow, that's a good looking couple. 2. Wow, were we so young and dumb. 

I think we were so happy and naive thinking, "This is going to be a blast forever!" And it has been a blast. And also terrifying. 

Here would be my Pre-Qualification List today:

1. I need someone who is willing to rush home from work when I find my 17-year-old Pomeranian, Keisha, passed away. And someone who also knows it's a big deal.
2. I need someone to stand by my side during an emergency c-section and to see his son, grey and not breathing, after he was born.
3. I need someone who will wake up at 6:00 a.m. with me to take our toddler to his third MRI in three years. 
4. I need someone who will listen to doctors explain that our child will never see the world like his sister.
5. I need someone who will fly across the country with me to meet doctors and have hard conversations about Jude's long-term potential. 
6. I need someone who is willing to help me use to the bathroom while recovering from a 7-hour surgery. 
7. I need someone who is willing to strip my drain tubes at 2 am. 
8. I need someone who tells me I'm beautiful every day, even when I feel old and tired. 
9. I need someone who says, "Yes" more often than "No" to my crazy ideas. 
10. I need someone who likes to have fun, go on dates, travel and laugh no matter what. 

Chris still fits every one. Once we were watching the TV show Dexter. Dexter asks a couple (a couple he is about to murder of course) what makes them happy together. They said, "We like the same things." And I do think at its core, that is true of most happy marriages. 

Lucy asked me how old will she be when she gets married. I tell her every time - 30. She also thinks she is going to marry Jude. I told her that if she's 30 and still wants to marry Jude, then we will worry about it. 

I hope that Lucy and Jude make their own Pre-Qualification lists and that they don't settle for less. I hope they find their "Chris" and have more good times than bad. 

They say behind every good man is a great woman. I'd like to say that behind every great woman is an even greater man. And it's not always Scott Wolf. 

Chris 
Amazing 
Fixing everything 
Always putting others first 
Love

Kari Kidrowski was one of my elementary BFFs. We both attended Dunkerton Elementary School. One of the biggest rights of passage back then was the 5th and 6th grade science fair. Everyone had to team up with one or two other kids, pick a topic and present our speech to the junior or senior high kids. So Kari and I paired up to do some research on our topic: Mold.

Kari’s mom is a rock star. She took us to Anderson Erickson Dairy (on her own time) to see how they used cultures to make things like yogurt and cottage cheese. Best of all, Kari’s mom let us grow mold on stuff in jars in her refrigerator.  We did it for weeks.
 
It was very disgusting and very fun. The big day came, and to our surprise Kari and I were the first 5th graders to ever WIN the 5th and 6th grade science fair.

At work recently, we took a personality test to identify our strengths. My top three:
1. Communication – You find it easy to put your thoughts into words.
2. Woo – You love the challenge of meeting new people and winning them over.
3. Competition – You strive to win first place and revel in contests.

I believe #3 all started with the 5th Grade Science fair. The following year, Kari and I had a new area of research. Here’s a photo. The location of Kari’s head makes our G-rated topic look a little more R-rated. 

The topic was Glass. 

Some time later my mom (another rock star) made a giant crawdad out of a bottle of bleach for another school project for my sister. Oh, if only we had social media in the 80’s - if I had that photo now it would definitely be on one of my Pinterest boards.

My hope for the future:
1. I am the kind of mom who lets my kids grow mold in my fridge for a good cause.
2. I am able to make a bleach bottle into a crawdad if needed.
3. I’m still able to laugh at photos of myself no matter how old I get and that I have many friends to laugh with me.

Thank you Colleen for sharing this photo. L to R: Colleen Magee-Buhler, Me and Stephanie Albertson Pershing. 

Science
So much mold
Thinking, talking, winning
Rock Star Helpful Mothers
Crawdad