If you’ve been around here at all, you know I like to talk about my wife, Tiffany. Today, I’m going to do that one last time for the year, because it’s her birthday. It’s a birthday I’ve been thinking about for a while because of a promise I made about 10 years ago. I haven’t fulfilled the promise, but I’m optimistic she’ll forgive me.
Real quick, just in case you’ve never been here, I’m a father of three and a marathon runner. My middle child, 7-year-old Jack, is severely autistic. To try to make a difference and help him have an impact on this world, I’m attempting to run 61 full marathons this year to raise money for a charity I’m a part of called Train 4 Autism.
So far, I’m through 59 of the 61. Only two to go. But none of this would be possible without Tiff. As I tell everybody, we’re like a NASCAR team. I’m the driver, so I get the attention. But she’s the crew chief. Jimmie Johnson gets nowhere without his team. I get nowhere without her.
Anyways, about 10 years ago, we were walking into a mall here called South Coast Plaza. At the time, we were both working, we had a mortgage of just $700 and we only had two mouths to feed. We were saving money, building up our investments and doing well. That’s when I made the promise.
By the time you’re 35, we’ll be millionaires.
A couple of times over the past several years, she joked around and told me she was coming up on 35. I kept joking back that we still had a little time. Even right now, I’m still thinking that technically I have 364 more days.
But no, I didn’t get us there. Heck, just last week, I checked and saw that we only had $740 available to write checks with. The reason I checked was because I got a call from a credit card company telling me our $750 payment bounced. Ah, the joys of not being a millionaire!
I’m sure you guys know by now I set high standards and chase big goals. When we were at the mall, that’s what I thought we could do, and that was the goal I set. She laughed and told me she’d believe it when she saw it, but I truly believed that would be the case. I love Tiffany and feel it’s my responsibility to make sure her journey through life is as wonderful as possible.
But I don’t think I’ve failed at that just because we don’t have a big bank account. We have three kids and a tight-knit family. We don’t have a huge house, but we have a great home. We struggle through everything together, but we’re proud of our “us against the world” mentality. We have our faith that things will get better and we know it could be worse. It’s all the cliché stuff, but it’s all true. We know chasing money won’t get us anywhere, so we don’t do that. I still want to provide her with a comfortable life, but that’s not anywhere close to a be-all, end-all for us.
We’re not millionaires, like I promised. But we’re still best friends. I still suffer through watching reality shows with her because that’s better than being in another room watching ESPN by myself. She still laughs at my jokes and then tells me I’m not funny. And of course, we have the kids. We both always wanted to have a family, and we didn’t know what to expect, but we have our family and we’re thrilled about that. As we always say, we’re just glad we get to ride this roller coaster together.
I really hope she has a great day today. I also hope she has a great day tomorrow. And then again the next day. If she does, I’ll know she has what she needs.
Michael Busch says
Happy Birthday Tiffany! I hope you have a wonderful day and a wonderful year to come! My wife and I are also best friends and no amount of money in the world could make up for that. Although you haven’t run marathons all year like Sam, I am sure this entire year has seemed like one long continuous marathon.
Erin F says
Happy birthday, Tiffany! (Sam, that was a really great post, btw)… I hope you and your family have the most wonderful of days!
Tiffany Felsenfeld says
Correction- I always say,”Hey, we’re in this shit together.” Love you, babe!
Sharla Wipplinger says
OK, Sam, your version is better.
Happy birthday Tiffany! Here’s to many happy returns, millionaires or not. 🙂
RuthE Levy says
Happy birthday Tiff! I know you and Sam did something special, and I’m sure the kids gave you special hugs and kisses. Who needs anything else!!!!
Bamboo Cyclist says
Happy Birthday to your amazing wife. What a great tribute to a woman who stands by your side in everything you do. I was reading Think and Grow Rich this last week and there is a chapter talking about how man cannot reach their full potential in life without the love of a woman. I am glad that you found that love in your best friend. Your marathon running this year is inspiring. What an amazing accomplishment you are doing. Your family is an example to all of us here on earth. Thank you for all that you do on a daily basis.
Jen Small says
Happy Belated Birthday wishes.
And you are millionares because you family is rich with something that is priceless. LOVE.
I’ll take love and leave money behind any day of the week.