As time goes by

With our best friends - Gerard, Jim, Patti, Deanna

There is magic in the air.

Jim and I were married 37 years ago today. Thirty seven! How is that possible?

Long, long ago, in a far away place, we met in of all places, Kindergarten. The long, long ago would have been in 1957 and the far away place was about 30 miles down the road from where we live now. Our hearts were torn to shreds when his parents moved across town and another school in 1960. (ok, so I’m exaggerating about the hearts. I honestly don’t remember him from those years, but he claims to remember me…)

Then one hot, summer night in 1969 our eyes met across a crowded dance floor. My heart fluttered. He flexed his muscles underneath the white “Fonzy” type t-shirt (Fruit of the Loom with the sleeves rolled up). He sauntered over to me and asked me to dance. Me! Little ol’ wallflower me! I shyly let him lead me out onto the dance floor, feeling like Cinderella in my mushroom print blouse (I’m not kidding here – I swear it was a mushroom print), navy blue culottes (that is what we called them in the good ol’ days) and glass slippers (they might have actually have been white sandals). We danced the night way as my best friend glared a hole in my back (she thought he was going to ask her to dance).

He called me for a date the next day. My overly protective mom and dad were not too happy that I was going out with this boy who turned up out of nowhere. They were even less happy when he turned up in a “sports car” – a 1961 (I think) Karmann Ghia(I swear I have to get a picture of that car scanned!). But go I did. We saw the original Herbie Love Bug movie.

After that night we were pretty much inseparable. We tried dating others a couple of times during our Senior year of high school but always ended back together. We even separated for a long period of three months after we had been dating for awhile. But somehow, we just couldn’t stay away from each other. On June 17, 1972 we said “I do”. And now, 37 years later, we still do.

I love you Jim. Thank you for a wonderful life and especially for our three wonderful children.