Valentine Grands to the Rescue

Photo by Gabby K on Pexels.com

Another Valentine’s Day came and went,

The only card I received was from my oldest, longest friend, Kit the Wit. Kit knows me well since we have been friends since childhood. Anyway, she knows I married a good kind generous loving man who does not believe in Valentine’s Day.

In our younger life together I put on a brave show of agreeing with Bill.

“It’s a Hallmark Holiday,” said we.

“It’s all commercialized.”

“Yup.”

And so the years went by. When hearing about our strange family custom, some friends sent cards and even candy but those acts of sympathy never lasted long. Only Kit the Wit persisted in remembering that her old friend always spent Valentine’s Day wishing for a surprise.

This Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2021 came and went like all the others.

Until February 15, 2021 – the day after! Actually the night after.

It was already dark and a holiday (President’s Day) so we were not expecting any deliveries, but suddenly Elsa the Dog began frantic barking and the lights of a delivery truck lit up the house. It was a gift from our three grandgirls – a beautiful box of chocolates with fond wishes for our enjoyment.

How wonderful is that?

THANKYOU MY SWEET AND THOUGHTFUL GRANDDAUGHTERS FOR LITERALLY MAKING OUR DAY!

AND HAPPY BELATED VALENTINES TO YOU TOO!

We love you more than you will ever know!

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Once Upon a Time There Was a Gopher and a Construction Worker

Because new friends in the knitting group kindly asked about Bill and me, and our history,  I was reminded of a blog post from several years ago that marks our beginnings.

I was seventeen.

I found a summer job right after  high school.   The company put up screen enclosures around swimming pools and I was a “gopher” (go fer this – go fer that) handing out paychecks to the construction workers.  Among them was a handsome, deeply tanned, dark haired fellow named William.

That first day I went home and excitedly reported, “Mom, I met a man – not a boy – a twenty one year old man!  And he looks just like Tony Curtis!”

For those of you too young to know who Tony Curtis was – he was a much beloved movie star with adoring fans.

Do you see a resemblance?

One of these pictures is of the famous film star, Tony Curtis.

The one in uniform is Bill  when I first met him, when he just got out of the U.S. Air Force.

My Dad was from the old school and he referred to Bill as “the bum” because he came calling in flip flops (rubber thong shoes) and a white t-shirt with one sleeve rolled up to hold a pack of cigarettes.

That was the in image of the day, or as they say today, he was “cool” or is it “he was hot?”

My old-fashioned European Dad still believed a man should come courting in white shirt and tie so Bill didn’t live up to parental expectations.

Of course, that didn’t stop us.  We waited three more years before getting married in the local courthouse.

The picture below is of our wedding day and you can see my father’s unhappy stance in the background.

We both went back to our jobs after the wedding, with Bill working nights and attending university during the day.  I was a secretary in a real estate appraiser’s office.

Dad predicted Bill would divorce me after he graduated from college.  But he was so wrong because Bill did graduate, became a civil engineer, eventually  retired, and we have been married now for over 50 years!

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