Friday, August 14, 2009

Lighting Flashed and Thunder Rolled

Lighting flashed - thunder rolled…she was still sitting right next me!
For weeks I had been driving her home from play practice taking the long way to her house, dropping off another friend first. When I dropped him off she would always slide over to the other side of the car but this day was different. WOW! I had considered her out of my stratosphere as far as dating options. But, here she sat right next to me on the bench seat of my Sky Blue 1963 Falcon. Not knowing how to handle such a strange and wonderful situation I nervously looked at her and she was smiling at me. I guess I did the right thing - I smiled back. Not thinking too well I eased the car away from the curb.
Looking back I wonder how she explained me to her family. It had to go something like this. Girlfriend -“Mom my new boyfriend is just great, he is a young man with few goals, although he does have one goal at the moment, and that is to be sure he never goes to college.” Mom – “Oh my goodness!! Does he work?” Girlfriend – “Oh yes, he has a great job he delivers furniture for a company that is going out of business and he has no opportunities for promotion but he does make $1.65 per hour.” Mom – “Well, what does he think for his future?” Girlfriend – “He says it will work out.” Mom – “Oh my goodness...I think I need to go to my bedroom now.” She walks away mumbling, “I think I am behind in my prayers. Oh, my goodness…Oh my goodness!”
They say past performance is the best indicator of future results. My past performance to this point had been less than stellar. The girl who decided not to slide over on that ride home was a straight A student, popular, a cheerleader, long brown hair that hung straight accentuating her amazing figure that made a 17 year old boy go cookoo. I have wondered now that many years have gone by; did anyone say to her? “tap you helmet girl he’s a loser”. Well, I am not sure if anyone told her that but I know at the time that is exactly how I felt.
As the weeks turned into months and the months turned into years – I heard her say more times than I can count, “you can do that.” Somewhere along that lane of many turns in time I began to believe her. She has been a strong encourager to me now for so many years.
Just tonight now in our 36th year of marriage I heard those words once more, “you can do that.”
To my sweet wife – you have surely been a blessing.

26 comments:

Sylvia K said...

What a lovely tribute to your wife -- something a little rare these days. Happy Anniversary! Enjoy!

Sylvia

Betty said...

Happy Anniversary. Thirty-six years - WOW!

Anita Jeyan said...

Oh my God.!! Mind blowing tribute! I totally respect and admire you, Grayquill! Your wife had been a blessing to you; she is also blessed to get a husband like you ..!Touch wood for such a MFEO pair.. Couples who share bonds like these are few and far between. :-) Wishing you both more years of togetherness..

Anonymous said...

Happy Anniversary you guys...
If any of us get to imbibe even a small percentage of what you and your wife achieved in relationships, we would have done God proud....

Arkansas Patti said...

Happy Anniversary to the young man with no apparent prospects and to the woman who knew better.
May you have 36 more.

Ashwini Shenoy said...

Aww... Happy Anniversary!! May you have many more together!! :-)

Dianne said...

Romantic and Real - that's what this is
Happy Anniversary
What a wonderful love story!

Michele Mallory-Davidson said...

You two are too lucky! How wonderful for you to have someone to believe in you and your lovely wife is lucky to have someone to believe in! It is an amazing kind of love story that we can all learn from, thanks for sharing! You reminded me I need to tell my husband that I do believe in him!
~Michele

Holly Kay said...

Absolutely beautiful. I hope your wife sees this touching post.

silverine said...

Congratulations!! Wow! Wishing you both many many more happy anniversaries! :)

Grayquill said...

Sylvia K: Thank you

Betty: It’s hard to believe 36 years have gone by – thanks!

Anita: Thanks, Anita – the touch wood? We say knock on wood. I wonder if the wood here is asleep or something?

Choco: 36 years bring a lot of good times and hard times as well. Thanks for your well wishes, as always you are a lady.

Arkansas Patti: Thank you for the great wishes but honestly – she could have done better.

Ashwini Shennoy: Thanks for coming to my blog and thank for the well wishes.

Dianne: Romantic – Real? For sure I am grateful. Thank you.

Michele: If this reminded you to tell your husband you believe in him – I very happy you received it. There is no more important person who can say those words to a husband than his wife.

Holly Kay: I guess I secretly hope she reads it too. Thanks!

Silverline: Thank you!

Lynda G. said...

That's beautiful. You are lucky to have found each other! Congratulations! Happy 36 years! Here's to many many more!

Lynda G. said...

PS Thank you for the lovely compliment on my blog - I replied to you there. I hope you see it.

Tall Guy said...

Congrats on your 36 wedding anniversary.

Amrita said...

Beautifully narrated love story and you will have many years in the future. Congratulations and God bless you both.

Debra said...

You and I share many blessings in common! Happy Anniversary! Hope you all had a wonderful day! May the Lord bless you with many many more!

Thanks for stopping by my way the other day!

Blessings, peace & all good,
Debra

Joy Des Jardins said...

She must have seen something special in you all those years ago and 36 years wonderful years of marriage Grayquill...something that she STILL sees. A very big Congratulations from me...it's a beautiful milestone; and may you both have many more to come. Cheers! ~Joy

Grayquill said...

Lynda G; Survivor; Amrita; Debra; and Joy Des Jardins: Thank you - all your words are very kind. I hope to see you all again.

Venus said...

That is incredibly sweet, lovely, romantic and moving. I am running out of words to describe it. Happy 36 and here's to 36 more! :)

As the Mind Meanders said...

I know I am late to wish you a happy anniversary... but not too late to wish the two of you many more happy and loving years ahead... The two of you are now my role models... I hope I can be half as good a husband to my wife (whenever I get married) as you are...

Cheers...

Sumit said...

Happy Anniversary, Mr. and Mrs. Grayquill. :)

May you have many more years filled with happiness and delight.

Grayquill said...

Sumit: That would be nice! Thanks for your good wishes.

Grayquill said...

Venus: You are new - Yahoo! Welcome. Thanks for the kind words.

Mr. Mind Meanders: Spend five minutes talking with my wife and you might not think me so great. But, thanks.

Ashley said...

I am too late for the anniversary. But I do hope that your love grows and we get to hear about many more happy moments, here in this blog, as the years roll by....
God Bless.

Sandra said...

What a WONDERFUL story. It is a little bit like our story. Hubby needed someone to encourage him in his goals, but, as I'm sure she would say of you too, there are many ways he helped me through life too. Isn't a long, happy marriage just one of the best gifts God can give? Congratulations on being a winner in the marriage "lottery". :)

Heidrun Khokhar, KleinsteMotte said...

Well now I get a much better picture of all that you hold dear and why! Great post :)