Episode 6: Meet Kirk (The One Who Keeps Us Laughing… Whether We’re Prepared or Not)
- valjen118
- May 4
- 5 min read
There are a lot of personalities behind Sweet & Sour Saturdays!
Some are detail-focused.
(Some very detail-focused… looking at you, Straight Steve.)
Some are creative.
Some are chaotic.
And then…
There’s Kirk.
Kirk is my husband. My better half. Literally my soulmate.
He is also known as:
The man who keeps us laughing
The unexpected quality control and commentary department
and the person who somehow appears out of nowhere… every single Saturday evening.
Picture this.
We're in the middle of crafting. (Something amazing, I'm sure)
Music is playing.
We’re talking over each other, singing along to the music (Oldies, of course…).
There are snacks everywhere (because crafting without snacks is just irresponsible).
We’re deep into a project, fully focused…
And then…
Kirk appears.
No footsteps.
No warning.
No logical explanation.
Just suddenly…
Standing there.
Usually sporting his (oh so fashionable) gaming headset.
Holding a gaming controller.
Wearing nothing but his boxers and bare feet...
But clearly on a mission. (Snacks. It’s always snacks.)
And then…
I’ll walk into another room, completely forgetting why I went in there. (I'm clearly, "At that age...")
“Why did I come in here? What did I need?”
And without missing a beat—
Kirk...
“I’ve got what you need,” while giving a completely unnecessary little wiggle of his hips like he thinks he’s being funny.
And just like that…
We’re either:
Laughing
Shaking our heads
Rolling our eyes (I have the strongest eye muscles from doing this daily because of Kirk's antics)
or questioning how his brain works… because honestly, the teenage boy part of him never grew up.
Kirk loves people.
And talking.
A lot.
To anyone. (And I mean anyone.)
He will start a story…
tell three other stories…
and then eventually return to the original point.
He could go literally ANYWHERE for two minutes and come back with:
A full story
Three new acquaintances
and possibly plans for next weekend.
But here’s the thing about Kirk…
He doesn’t just talk.
He observes.
And then…
He comments.
Not always when you want him to… and sometimes with the kind of honesty that makes me pause and go,
“Wow… okay… we’re just saying that out loud then.”
If something looks great?
He’ll tell us.
If something is even slightly off? (Also looking at you here, Straight Steve)
Oh… he will definitely tell us.
No hesitation.
No filter.
Just immediate, brutally honest feedback.
And Really,
I love it.
And I appreciate it.
(Because he’s usually right… which we will never willingly admit.)
Because behind the jokes…
He helps us make things better.
More fun.
More heartfelt.
More personable.
(Anyone who can turn a quick trip into a 30-minute conversation with a complete stranger… clearly understands people.)
Now here’s where things shift a little…
Because while Kirk is the guy popping in mid-craft like a snack-seeking ninja…
He’s also the reason I can keep crafting at all.
What you don’t see behind the scenes is...
His late nights.
Early mornings.
The constant giving and working.
Kirk is the kind of person who gets things done. He seems to know what everyone needs without them even having to ask for help.
For everyone.
Neighbors need help with snowplowing?
Their driveway is clear before they even get home from work.
Something needs to be fixed?
He’s halfway done before you even finish asking.
And he never expects anything in return.
(Except maybe a snack… which is fair.)
And then there are the little things.
The way he knows what I need…
Sometimes, before I even do.
The things that don’t make it into photos or posts.
Like how every night…
He sets up my mug with a tea bag, so in the morning, all I have to do is pour hot water and go.
Or how…
In 30 years of marriage…
I’ve pumped gas maybe three times.
Because somehow…
My tank is just always full. (Which honestly raises questions…
But I’m not asking them!)
The truth is…
Without him, it would be nearly impossible for me to pull this all off.
My full-time job.
My two side businesses.
And definitely not my Saturdays.
(Which is exactly why I work so hard during the week… just to get to today!)
And while we joke about him appearing out of nowhere with commentary and snack priorities…
He’s been showing up for me, our children, our family, and our friends… for more than 30 plus years.
Now… if you think this all started smoothly…
It did not.
(I was 17… slightly dramatic… and fully convinced I knew everything. (I absolutely did not.)
Kirk says the first time he saw me…
I was standing on a bench at ice-skating rink… (my mom had been taking my siblings and me here since we could walk, she’s amazing. We’ll talk about her in future blogs)
I was yelling at Kirk’s friend, my soon-to-be ex-boyfriend.
(Wearing skin-tight green 90's jeans and thinking I was the hottest girl on the planet.)
So naturally…
He thought, “Yes. That’s the one for me.”
I, however…
Did not agree.
For months.
Kirk graduated from college and went back home to New Hampshire.
We talked long-distance…
on a corded landline phone.
Phones were physically attached to the wall…
And every long-distance call came with a little bit of financial fear. (Sorry mom & dad!)
For about two months, we talked… just as friends at the time.
Until one day…
Friday, Valentine’s Day, 1994.
(Yes, the 1900s… please don’t do the math.)
I walked out of High School…
And there he was.
Standing on the sidewalk next to his beat-up Ford Bronco.
Looking slightly disheveled.
Holding a dozen red roses.
He and his two friends drove 14 hours.
Horsing around, stealing snacks, and behaving like three completely unsupervised, slightly feral young adults.
Fourteen...
Hours.
Just to…
Bring me flowers.
Spend one night in a questionable motel.
Wake up the next morning and
Drive 14 hours home to be at work on Monday.
And just like that…
I was done.
Completely, absolutely, head-over-heels in love.
30 years later…
That hasn’t changed.
Actually, it’s stronger every day.
So while he may be the guy quietly grabbing snacks…
and making comments that have us laughing and shaking our heads…
He’s also the heart and support behind everything I do…
(second only to God).
And honestly?
Every Saturday is a little better…
because Kirk is here. (Usually for snacks… but still counts.)
Before I share more about some of the amazing, hilarious, and supportive people in our lives,
Coming up next…
We’re getting back to the chaos.
And this next “order”?
Well… it wasn’t actually an order at all.
It was our first public event.
And let’s just say…
Even with all of us involved…
It was chaos right up to the very last second of prep.
(Which, honestly, feels pretty on brand.)
Episode 7: From Crafts to Chaos (Our First Event!)
At Sweet & Sour Saturdays, every story — and every creation — is made with a little love, a lot of laughter… and just enough chaos. “Because life’s too short to gift boring!”
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