After forty years, I find it hard to come up with the perfect anniversary present for my favorite man. Wendell and I married as teenagers. Seriously. We were so young his mother had to go to the county courthouse with us and sign a permission slip for Wendell to marry me. She occasionally regretted that action, but I think she is okay with it now.
We married during the Viet Nam era, when young girls were afraid their future might march off in a uniform and never come home again. So, we grabbed the moment. Many military wives went to their senior proms alone in those years.
Wendell and I married the week before I graduated from high school. My fellow seniors went to Florida to celebrate, and I went on a honeymoon. Craziness. But so fun. We then proceeded to grow up together and have some amazing, resilient children along the way.
Somewhere in the past forty years, I discovered something about gift-giving in our relationship. I was always so bad at it. I bought him useless do-dads just because “he needs something to open.” I couldn’t figure out how to express my love without a box and a bow.
Then, one day, I woke up and realized I’m married to a Man of Information, as Jane Austen once said. Wendell loves nothing more than gathering knowledge. And, he retains it. No matter what room we are in, he can sit down and converse with people about everything from Sesame Street to the political climate in the Ukraine.
So, that is what I’ve started giving him. I can’t keep up on world events faster than he does. But, I’m on Facebook! I love catching up with him at the end of the day and telling him about the people we know and love all over the world. The social studies project Jazz created in Chicago. How fast Anna’s baby is growing in Raleigh. Where Buck is preaching. What Dennis is reading. How Scott and Michelle’s new grandbaby is doing.
You, dear readers, are the gift I’m giving my husband on this anniversary. Your stories. Your thoughts. Your latest comments on my blog…
Thanks to those of you who have been part of our story the past forty years, and welcome to those who are just joining the plot. I promise we’ll have some fun!
Sweet.
Oh I love this! You guys are an amazing example and I am blessed to know you.
I was at that wedding! I know what you mean about presents. Blaine and I do not buy each other presents very often, although I will buy him some mixed nuts or sugar free candy, and he will pick up croissants at the store, because he knows I love them. It is the little acts of kindness that mean the most to me now.
Kathy, I remember your wedding, but I’d forgotten it was the week before your H.S. graduation. That was back in the day when a commitment was a commitment. Congratulations on 40 wonderful years and a lovely family.
Thanks to all of you! Your kind words really do mean a lot. Sara Beth, I’ve probably told you before that your husband taught me to cook. I’d stop by the store every evening and stand hopelessly in front of the meat counter and he would say, “Here is a nice whatever. Let me tell you how my wife fixes that.
What a treasure.
Congratulations! Here’s to another 40!
Congratulations to you both! Watching and learning from you and Wendell has been a true privilege to me over the years.
I think the love you have for each other is the perfect gift for Wendell; and that love that radiates between you two, shines forth to the rest of us and is our gift! Congratulations on keeping the gift that God gave each of you for all these years. Forty years is a long time of ups and downs, but you both know that it takes THREE to make a marriage last and God has to be the center. Congratulations and thank you for radiating your love.