So my wife’s birthday is today and ne’er you mind how old she is! Because she looks younger than most!

But alas, I am not there with her on her big day, I am with the students in Cleveland on our Alternative Spring Break. So I had to do something for my wife who always misses me terribly when I’m away.

So we already have celebrated early, but I thought I’d turn this post into a kind of mix tape (or CD or MP3, whatever) of songs that have some special meaning for us. So let’s start out with, duh, Mix Tape from the Musical Avenue Q:

When Marion and I had been dating for a few weeks I began to really fall for her. I was afraid to tell her how I felt. After a date one night I returned to Marion’s apartment for dessert and I put some music on and we danced to this song in her tiny Queens apartment:

I sang to her that night. And at the end of the song Marion looked at me and said, “That wasn’t just you being Karaoke Man, was it?”

I sheepishly replied, “No. I think I have fallen in love with you.”

And the rest as they say is history.

Two years later, we decided to make that song the second dance at our wedding. Our wedding song came from an evening of watching the movie The American President. Michael Douglas and Annette Benning danced to this song. Because I’m a Frank Sinatra fan, I knew the words to the instrumental here. The old radio show Saturday with Sinatra always ended with it. But this scene captured our imagination and when I started to sing the refrain, Marion cried and said, “That should be our wedding song.”:

And here’s Ole Blue Eyes himself with “I Have Drreamed” which is actually a song from the musical “The King and I”:

While I’m not there to dance with you today, my darling wife, know that I know that you are the one I am meant to dance with for the rest of my life.

Longing to be home soon:

Missing you already. 5 days to go. I love you. Happy Birthday Darling.

And you have a special someone, go take a spin on the floor.