I know many people who say a high school romance can not survive the test of time
but our relationship has only grown stronger throughout the many trials and triumphs of our 29 year marriage.
Our story starts out with a friendship our senior year. I was holding out for another guy and really wasn't thinking much about Vallas during that year. I seemed to hit him a lot (because he was always picking on me). He made a bet with me that I could not go a day without hitting him. If I lost I had to go on a date with him. I really did not want to date him so I tried really hard not to hit him but I lost. I told him it was going to be a boring date. I wanted him to get the hint that I wasn't romantically interested. Well, after our dinner and a visit with some friends he proceeded to pull into a deserted parking lot.
I was not happy.
He asked me what I was doing sitting so far over to the door. (I was hanging on for dear life and dread, LOL)
Real quick in my mind I thought,
It is only a kiss, I like him as a person a lot, so just get it over with.
That one kiss was all it took.
I was hooked and our friendship turned into a romance.
We dated for 2 years, but he decided he wasn't ready for marriage and needed to date a few other people to make sure. He became engaged to one of the girls about 1 1/2 years later, but found out it was going to be a mistake. He called me, as his friend for advice. He decided to call off the engagement and we cautiously began to date again. After several months we decided we were meant to be together and were married 5 months later.
Our first 3 years were a lot of fun and we bought our 1st house and began remodeling and decorating. All the nesting made me want to start our family. God had other ideas. We waited 5 more long years and started fertility treatments before we were able to conceive our 1st daughter. 2 years later I was ready to try again. Having been told we would have the same problem we got our fertility meds but decided to wait to start them until the baby could be born after the 1st of the year. I thought it was so unfair to have a baby born at Christmas. A few months later we found out we were expecting all on our own! With a due date of Dec. 15th. God has such a sense of humor. Daughter #2 came late on Dec. 27th.
Life for us proceeded as most do, Satisfying jobs, new house, pets and lots of fun and love. We had our ups and downs but all the while kept a steady course even in times when we were less than thrilled with each other. The last 5 years have been extremely challenging but the worst came with my husbands open heart surgery 1 1/2 years ago and then the foreclosure of our home and loss of both of our businesses.
God has always been a guiding force in our lives but this last year He has proven His love for us exceedingly by providing for our every need.
We are truly blessed and our relationship is stronger than ever. I posted about our relationship after my husband surgery here!
My advice to couples this Valentines day is
to be patient with each other,
respect your differences and
wait out the tough times, they will pass.
Your marriage is worth it
As I enjoy a much needed quick trip to the beach in S.C. to visit my In-Laws. I am sitting on the balcony watching a young family walk along the sand. The small little girl is picking up shells and playing in the sand. The Mom is taking photos of her, capturing this childish play. They begin to walk again and I see an older gentleman, stooped and walking with a cane. He moves slowly along the beach. As their paths cross it makes me see how precious life is.
