My
Fabulous Family
The Romance Begins
OK, I'm the oldest......I get
to go first!
(Geeze, I wonder how many
times I've said that in my lifetime?)
This is my
love...Gary
He's holding his love
:-)
I was only joking about
fishing being Gary's love. I always come first...right after CLAMS! Digging,
cooking or eating....he loves clams....then me....then
fishin'.
I thank the Lord everyday for
the Big "G". He is truly the perfect mate for me....and there isn't a doubt in
my mind that he is God's answer to moms prayers to give me "A good
man."
The road to Gary was a long
one. It was worth the trip.
Elizibeth Taylor was once
quoted as saying "I love being married, that's why I've done it so many times."
Well, Liz, I can relate to that:-)
I married the first time at
the age of seventeen. There were problems from the beginning....but I loved him,
I believe he loved me, so we kept trying to make it work. Four kids and sixteen
years later we finally just gave up.
I jumped from the frying pan
into the fire and remarried about six months later. I told myself I had learned
some lessons, and would not waste another sixteen years trying to make a bad
relationship good. That marriage lasted one year and two weeks. It would have
ended in an annulment the first week, but the attorney said fraud was the only
grounds in our state, and that a crazy man posing as a sane one didn't
constitute fraud.
I stayed single for the next
fifteen years and took care of my kids......except for that one time in 1985
when I told myself that I knew what my past problems had been. I had
always let my heart rule me.....and my heart liked handsome, charming men. A
good friend had been asking me to marry him for some time. He had many good
qualities,and was the opposite of all previous relationships. So I gave into the
nesting urge again. Friendship is a good beginning, but trust me, a marriage
needs love...real love...to work. Eleven months(the old 'don't waste time'
theory)later we divorced. Too bad cuz now we weren't even good friends any
longer.
At that point I decided my
mom's prayers weren't working, and that I needed to have a little talk with
Jesus about the situation myself. I said "Lord, I'm tired of trying to do your
job for you. I'm not very good at it...so I guess it's time to turn it over to
you. You created Eve for Adam. I do not believe you meant for me to be
lonely....so I'll just wait patiently until YOU decide who, where and,
when.
Five years later, a friend
was getting married and invited me to her wedding. You may not believe this,
considering my history, but I'm not fond of weddings...especially those that are
over a hundred miles a way. But my daughter and I went to that wedding even
though I was dreading it.
And Gary was there......my
Gary.
He had lost his wife of 28
years to cancer the previous year. My heart went out to him.....and I knew he
was THE ONE that God intended for me.
We met Nov. 27, 1989. On New
Years Day, he proposed to me, and we were married July 7, 1990. Fast? No....I
had waited a lifetime for him.
"Thank you Lord, for allowing
me to have a mate so perfect for me."
JoEtta
I love her name. Maybe that's
because I named her. Pretty good name choosing for a child under 4 years old,
don't you think?
I wish I had a different
picture of Jo. This one does not do her justice. She is so pretty!
You know how people always
stick labels on you? I guess when your referring to a family with six girls in
it you have to sometimes. When we were growing up, and people would be trying to
tell someone about one of us girls, They would say things like,"You know, Rinda,
the bubbly one", or "Betty, the sweet one". When they spoke of Jo it was always,
"You know, Jo, the pretty one." The label should have been "Jo, the pretty one
that is so efficient." This woman is an expert organizer! Quiet? Somewhat,
perhaps. But she certainly knows how to take care of business, and is no
shrinking violet.
I've always felt especially
close to my sister, Jo. Maybe that's because we are nearer in age and have all
that childhood history behind us. Or maybe it's the history between us that was
made when we were no longer children. :-)
When we were younger, people
often mistook her quietness for aloofness....others thought of her as meek. She
is neither. She is easily the warmest, most gentle, caring person I know. I
don't know what mom and dad would do without her. Her three sons are very lucky
to have her as their mother. I am very lucky to have her for a sister. She is
another of the blessings I thank God for regularly.
Jo is a more private person
than I am(I think EVERYONE is....my life has always been an open book :-)and
I'll respect that.
I will say.......about ten
years ago a guy came knocking at her door . It was a guy she had gone to school
with way back in the sixties. He told her that he'd had a big crush on her then,
never forgotten her, and had recently found out that she was back in the
hometown, and single.
They've been married nine
years now. I think that's rather romantic.
Ray
The picture is bad....but the
brother is the greatest.
And so is his wife
Leslee
Ray was right in the middle
of us six girls....almost like a dividing line. He has always been there for
each of his sisters, whatever the need was. I guess that might have been
expected with the three younger girls....after all, Ray was their 'big brother.'
But he was just as supportive and protective of the older three as well. My
mother will tell you that he is THE perfect son.
I always think of my brother
as the strong, silent type.......kind of like a John Wayne with golf clubs. He
doesn't need to talk just to hear his own voice. When he speaks, he really
says something. At least that is what
I'm usually expecting from him. Then out of the blue he will say something
incredibly funny......I mean, FUN-NY, revealing his wonderful sense of
humor.
Ray met Leslee while they
were both attending college in southern Oregon. He was there because it was near
home and family...only about 100 miles away. Leslee was from San
Francisco,California, a very different background than Ray's small town
upbringing.
The first time I met Leslee,
I couldn't believe she was a big city girl. I thought she was much too sweet and
naive to be from the sophisticated background that she spoke of. I learned the
family was more comfortable finacially than Rays family, and that Les was the
apple of her daddy's eye. Les should have been a spoiled brat. She wasn't. Even
so,(forgive me Ray,Les) I thought, "This will never work, there's just too many
differences."
They finished
college.....They had a beautiful wedding.....They spent some time living in
Germany while Ray did a stint in the Army.....Then settled into careers and life
around the San Francisco Bay area. Les matured into one of the most talented,
creative women I know. They've been married now for about twenty-seven years,
and their love is still just as evident, just as supportive of each other as it
was that day in the college dorm.
.....VIVE LA
DIFFERENCE!!
Click on heart
...... to meet Judy and
Brad
Midi
Playing is "I Feel Lucky"
|
Wonderful World
