How Good It is to Remember Continued

Well it is only 15 days away from the big Silver Wedding Anniversary. Like I said earlier, I have been visiting the past and recalling some special yet simple memories of John and me. I would say we had a very humble beginning. However, as I recollect treasures from 25 years ago, I would have to say that John and I became very good friends in our courtship. There were no cell phones for texting or computers for emailing. And since long distance phone calls were not free in 1984 those were far and few in between the times we actually saw each other.

So letter writing was our way of connecting. I miss this personal and intimate art in which our culture and time has lost. There was something special about going to my mailbox once or twice a week to find a letter from John. And the excitement of running back to my dorm room to read the letter for the second time was exhilarating since I had already read it once on the walk back. I had cute little stationary pads in my room fresh and crisp awaiting the attention of my pen. And as I look back through some of the letters now, I realize that we really encouraged each other a lot during the times we were apart. John was a junior at Clemson University. His class load was the heaviest ever and he struggled that year.Many times he became discouraged and overwhelmed.

I am so grateful we became such good friends that year before we married. And we remain great friends 25 years later. Have there been times when I felt like he was my worst enemy? Oh yes! But he really wasn't. However, we have stuck with it, supported each other, given up for one another, and kept pushing through the times when we wondered if we really would make it.

In the photo above, you will see John standing in front of a waterfall. This is White Water Falls near Clemson. S.C. John took me there on several dates. It was the first waterfall I had ever seen. We loved to go there and sit on the rocks, eat KFC and drink champagne. We would walk, walk, walk, and talk, talk, talk. Even after we were married we still enjoyed finding wooded places to take long strolls. Sometimes we would not even talk.

Another one of my favorite memories was the time John brought me to his Dad's house to cook dinner for me. He made homemade pizzas. I was impressed as he tossed the dough up into the air like a pro. After dinner, we sat in front of the fire in the living room and named the two children we thought we might have one day! We actually used those two names. Needless to say we had to come up with 7 others over the years and are getting ready to name two more babies!! Wow, I cannot help but smile so big right now! Isn't it amazing how life usually never turns out the way we plan? In God's plan, it usually is better than what we dream.

So there you have it. A few memories. Just a small peek into a love story that started 26 years ago and continues to unfold. It is so good to remember!