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| As a college senior |
Today happens to be the anniversary of the first time Clark and I met! Yep--October 17, 1968 is an
important date in history--in our family, anyway :).
I was a senior in college that year, and Clark was a cadet police dispatcher in the Raleigh Police Department (NC) at the time. Some of my college girlfriends and I headed to Raleigh for the annual State Fair, and on the way we stopped by (now follow closely, because this is intricate) "my girlfriend's boyfriend's house." Whew. Couldn't think of a better way to explain it. Perhaps "the home of my girlfriend's boyfriend"? That doesn't sound much better, does it? But I digress . . .
My girlfriend (Sheila) and her boyfriend (Frank--who lived just outside Raleigh, in Garner) were going to the State Fair together, and we girls were gonna tag along. While at Frank's house, his sister Carol and his brother Joe were also there. Well, Joe (unbeknown to the rest of us), called his buddy Clark, who lived a few blocks away, to come over to see all those college girls at his house!
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| Young married couple |
Clark did indeed come over a few minutes later and we were all introduced. If my memory is correct, we ended up not going to the State Fair because it was pouring rain, but stayed at the house and we all ate spaghetti and enjoyed goofing off. Frank and Sheila did go, anyway, but when they got back, they said they practically swam everywhere--and they were drenched. The next week Clark invited me out on a date. The rest, as they say, is history! We'll be celebrating our 44th wedding anniversary in December.
Through the years, we've had a wonderful life together, good times as well as heartaches, as everyone does. We have two wonderful daughters, two fabulous sons-in-law, three precious grandchildren, and a great extended family. Above all, we both became Christians after we married, and I would not trade one instant of our lives for anything. God has been faithful, so good to us, and has blessed us far beyond anything we deserve.
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| Holly |
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| Bethany |
Clark is a keeper, for certain. He is one in a million, and I am so thankful to share my life with him. We've lived through his one-year deployment to Vietnam during our engagement (we married when he returned), two miscarriages, as well as all the ups and downs of life, such as when he was in college nine years after high school when the Lord called him to become a teacher. That is funny, because Clark always hated school as a student! He retired nearly two years ago from teaching, and is now subbing as much as he wants in our county schools. Our oldest daughter Holly was born when Clark was in college--I had a miserable pregnancy and had to quit work, so he had a lot of pressure on him at that time. Then, when she was born, she had terrible colic for three months, so neither of us got much sleep. Life is always interesting, and its problems always work themselves out. But prayer and trust in the Lord are the keys.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY of our first meeting to my best friend, my fabulous husband, the world's best father and grandfather. May we have many more decades together.
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| September 2014 |
Yes, today is our fortieth wedding anniversary! It has been quite a ride along the way, chock full of blessings and joys, notably our daughters, sons-in-law, grandchildren, siblings & their families, my mom--well, you get the idea!
In any case, much has changed over the past forty years, but some things remain the same: our love for each other and for our wonderful family. In the midst of a sometimes topsy-turvy world, some things are priceless (to borrow a phrase from a television commercial). Being with our loved ones, sharing laughter and conversation with them, and watching the grandchildren blossom before us simply cannot be taken for granted. The Lord has given us so much, and we are thankful to Him daily. Our daughters are endearing, our sons-in-law are like sons, and our little grandchildren bring such joy to our lives. My mom is the only parent still with us, and we celebrated her 83rd birthday Saturday.
