OPINION
'Love is like oxygen. Love is a many-splendored thing. Love lifts us up where we belong. All you need is love.'
That quote, which might be familiar to some of you, was how James Draper, the officiant for Jim and my wedding, started the ceremony.
As we approach Valentine's Day, I want to take the chance to share a few of the things I love about my husband.
I know I've said it before, but he really has the best stories.
If you're lucky, you'll get the chance to sit and listen to him tell them.
I saw that during the years we were friends who saw each other a couple of times a year at press conventions, where he would attract people to his side and keep their focus.
It doesn't matter whether he's telling a story about the people he met through his work—famous actors, bigname anglers, professional athletes and infamous criminals— or about his own antics throughout his life.
His charm and talent for storytelling that makes him a wonderful journalist keep you hooked.
If you get him and his son together, you really get to see the storytelling at play.
Jim will tell you he was just in the right place at the right time for those experiences.
It's truly that he's the right person, too, not just lucky.
He's incredibly busy. Jim still actively works on the newspaper he owns and runs each week, plus he travels back and forth between East Texas and North Texas, plays an active role in Julia and Jada's lives, and keeps things running smoothly at home to take stress off of me.
Through all of that, Jim is a thoughtful friend who reaches out to many of the people he cares about, and he's willing to be there whenever he's needed.
He's impressively good at follow-through in all aspects of life, which helps inspire me at times to be better at that, too.
I am rarely without a vase (or two) of beautiful flowers, because he wants me to know he's thinking of me.
I don't need the flowers to know that, though. He shows me in everything he does. It doesn't matter whether we're having an adventure to Disney World, to one of our home areas or the grocery store, it's going to be fun, because he's next to me.
I haven't even mentioned how handsome he is.
Or how he looks off into the distance, shaking his head at me, after I've grabbed a series of pictures of him, which just means I'm going to snap a few more so I can capture that look.
Jim Bardwell is everything I hoped for and more.
This isn't just me taking the chance to brag, but trust me, I could go on and on.
This is more to say that if you had given me a crystal ball last Valentine's Day and shown me what my life is like today, I would have been shocked.
I haven't asked him before printing this, but I would imagine Jim would say the same.
If you have experienced the heartbreak of loss, no matter the form, I hope this brings you some hope.
When Jim and I found each other, we were both hurting and, in different ways, a bit broken, albeit because of very different experiences.
When we found each other, we found the right fit for us.
I don't know what your future holds any more than I knew mine would bring me here.
Try not to give in to the fear and the pain of being alone if you're heartbroken this Valentine's Day.
Maybe, if you're lucky, you'll find your Jim.
I'm so grateful I found mine.
Abigail Bardwell is the Editor & Publisher of the Post-Signal. She can be reached at abardwell@postsignal. com.
