A Valentines note...

Its been "forever" since I blogged. A friend reminded me of that and assumed that it was because I was too busy... I shrugged it off, but then later thought about it and took some inventory... I am allowing too many things to crowd my day...and it shuts out other things that are important to me, my health and others... To that friend... THANKS!

I got up this AM and saw the snow flying... here in OK. But it is a nice kind of snow. It is brutally cold, but the snow will not pile up (or so they say), like it is in the east today.

Valentines day... snow.... it causes me to wax eloquent for a moment.

On Feb. of 1980, I met a girl at college. I had seen her around campus from time to time, and thought she was pretty cool. But I was playing basketball, working alot and trying to keep my head above water with the classes. No time for a relationship. But I just couldn't help myself.

On one cold evening, we both got invited to the same birthday party. ( And Austrailian girl's mom flew all the way to Joplin Mo...to throw a party for her 21st birthday.) Well, some might call it fate, some might call it luck, some might call it the work of the Holy Spirit of God, but whatever it was, She and I found ourselves in a line playing a game where you pass a lifesaver from one toothpick to another. We really did not know each other, but close encounters like that are rare and far between for guys like me. It was a "Wow" moment.

Later , I saw her at a ballgame. I told my friend on the team, "I am going to ask her out." ( I was at the usual place- the end of the bench....with my friend... I guess my level of concentration was not good, but at that moment, it was in the "right" place)

Anyway, I digress. I went over after the game and said something like, "Hey would you like to go get something to drink in a little bit.". She said "yes". Off to McDonalds it was! And I got her back to the dorm after curfew... And from then on, it is whirlwind city.

Six weeks later we were engaged. I just knew. She just knew. ( We were 22 and 21). We were married a year later... and it has been so great.

4 kids later, we still laugh at a picture of our kids dancing at a rest stop somewhere in the midwest. We still dream about the future. We still love spending dinner time together. Most nights any more, we are alone. Three kids are gone ( 2 are married, one away at college). Our youngest at Sonic, or is involved with friends at church. So there are lots of evenings at home. Some nights we talk alot ( but not as much as we used to.... the stroke has robbed me of some of my conversational skills). But they are good friendship kind of talks. They are rarely earth shattering by anyone else's standards. But to me, they are comforting...and they are funny.

We laugh alot at each other... We "high five" each other. We pass electrical charges in the winter through a kiss. ( We have to get a humidifier) We discuss how blessed we are...especially in light of the many issues that our friends face. We share a chocolate desert - one with two spoons...

We will have been married 26 years on April 5th. The 25th anniversary was spent in a hospital. I am so glad that I am around to celebrate the 26th. I hope for 26, or 36 more...And I look forward to the friendship deepening... sharing our lives with our children ( and grandchildren too- no pressure kids...just hope). I look forward to new challenges and new dreams... that are done together. And I pray daily that our lives will be a good witness of what it means to travel this journey we call life TOGETHER. It is what God intended for us.

Pam, I love you... You are amazing. You are God's great gift to me.

Charlie