Ten Years with a DPS Rogue

Tomorrow marks ten years of something I honestly thought was impossible.

But despite my sordid history and my insistence on being independent and never relying on anyone for anything, Meltarrus Washington crept into my life. Oh he was a stealthy one, pretending to just “hang out” and challenge me in video games. I was on to him from the beginning, though and told him there’d be absolutely no relationship. Ever. He gave me that cocky half-smile of his and said some canned response like, “Yeah, but you’ve never met a guy like me before.” Yeah. Sure. Whatever.

Then he told me he’d beta tested the game I was playing so I decided to give him a shot (don’t judge me! I did it for the good of the guild). Besides, he had this great sense of humor and did some serious damage to keep the mobs off my healer (okay, yes I’m a nerd). And no matter how much I tried to deny it, that was just straight-up hot. Then he turned serious and before I knew it, he had dragged me into church (kicking and screaming) to start marriage counseling with Pastor James Boyd (henceforth known as Mel’s partner in crime). After a few months of these sessions, Pastor Boyd decided Mel and I were sane enough to be married (boy did we have him fooled!).

Mel and I worked at the same place and despite our denials our coworkers seemed a little suspicious that we were dating. Since telling them about the wedding would give us away, we didn’t invite them (I think we were trying to figure out how long we could go without telling them). Instead we had a very small ceremony and disappeared for a few days to LaPush, Washington (now known as werewolf country, but Mel was the only furry beast I saw while up there).

Those first couple of years weren’t easy. To be honest, there were times when I wanted to delete his character and vendor all his gear (not necessarily in that order). But I think during those marriage counseling sessions Mel and his partner in crime (yes Pastor Boyd I’m talking about you), worked some deal with God to turn me into a little less ice wielding wizard and a little more into the caring healer I liked to play. Both God and Mel continued to pour love and forgiveness into me and I got a respec – shifting my points from damage wielding to healing done.

Now, as I sit on the lanai at our rented condo on Kauai, I can’t help but feel blessed. I’m thankful to Mel – the high DPS (damage per second for those of you non-gamers) rogue who did enough damage to destroy the ice around my heart and to God – who never gave up on me and always forgave me for being stubborn, pigheaded and downright stupid.

I love you, Baby, and here’s to another ten years!