Our Blog
The intent of our blog is twofold: for us–to stay up-to-date and connected with each other. for you–to spark your own conversations, eye to eye,
hand in hand, and heart to heart.
My Kind of Man
June 10, 2022
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Sylvia
Dear Eddie, I often catch myself asking, “What kind of man is this?” Sometimes, I am laughing. Sometimes, I am exclaiming. Sometimes, I am wondering, in a really holy sense. Always,
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Deep
March 30, 2022
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Eddie
Still waters run deep. This 75-year-old ex-professor taught limnology too many times. When I failed to respond, you repeated top to bottom the information that the orchids in the kitchen
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Blessed Getaway
February 21, 2022
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Sylvia
Dear Eddie, Thank you for another wonderful two-night-minimum getaway. For years, we have prioritized time away for the two of us. We have learned that it takes at least two
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Tradition
January 5, 2022
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Eddie
Dearest Sylvia: As we were taking down the tree this morning, I was reminded of Tevye, the Papa in Fiddler on the Roof. He was frustrated with the changes in
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Wrong
November 14, 2021
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Sylvia
Dear Eddie, I was wrong. Yes, again, for sure. Oh, how I hate to be wrong, much less to own and say the words out loud. There was no
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The Letter
August 19, 2021
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Eddie
Darling Sylvia, “Deliver the letter, the sooner the better.” In a time long ago, in a northern Michigan town called Grayling, a twenty-year-old Eddie Bert was driving home after work
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Smiles
July 9, 2021
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Sylvia
Dearest Eddie, You moved a lot of flowers today. Specialty cut flower grower is a descriptive mouthful but I prefer to call you a purveyor of smiles. As I watch
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Only One
May 26, 2021
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Eddie
Darling Sylvia, You were then and are now my only one. It was in the fall of 1967, standing with you in my arms in front of Newberry Hall,
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Spring Break
April 3, 2021
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Sylvia
Dear Eddie, Spring Break in St. Augustine! Even with Covid carefulness, we did not forget our dedication to a two night minimum getaway. We celebrate the couple time of shorter
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Normal
February 1, 2021
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Eddie
Darling Sylvia, COVID-19 has changed our language. Having a safe bubble and a safe pod have become the “new normal.” But what is so new about normal? Having an Alma
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Repeating
December 27, 2020
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Sylvia
Dear Eddie: When I was growing up, I was Big Sister to three little brothers. Mom would tell them to do something, and I would immediately repeat her words. She
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Slow Down
October 20, 2020
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Eddie
Darling Sylvia, I feel the need to slow down in order to make our moments last. I remember the moment in the fall of 1966 in front of Newberry Hall,
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Singing
August 19, 2020
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Sylvia
Dear Eddie: I heard you singing. I was chilling in the gazebo one morning in July and harkened to your voice coming up from the garden. “And a partridge in
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Names
July 8, 2020
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Eddie
Darling Sylvia, Thank you for teaching me the names for feelings. Taxonomy is the science and the art of assigning names. Dr. Kapp at Alma taught me that yellow flowers
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Dirt
May 19, 2020
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Sylvia
Dear Eddie: I have always known that you have a special relationship with dirt. I have always enjoyed your being my garden boy and the beautiful things you grow. At
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Always Better Together
March 31, 2020
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Eddie
Precious Sylvia, We are always better together. It was in the late summer of 1969; these two recent Alma grads were in a junker with bald tires and a U-Haul
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Orchid Boy
February 7, 2020
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Sylvia
Darling Orchid Boy: Yes, my dear Eddie; you are forever my Orchid Boy. What eighteen year old boy, especially back in the days of our beginnings, loved orchids? So
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For Love
November 7, 2019
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Eddie
Dearest Sylvia, For Love, over the last 54 years, you have helped me to experience many firsts. At 72 years of age, I thought, until this morning, I was running
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Two Night Minimum
November 7, 2019
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Sylvia
Dear Eddie, I am crazy about our two night minimum getaways; we have adopted a formula that works. In the past, we have prioritized periodic getaways for the two of
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Gifts
August 27, 2019
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Eddie
Darling Sylvia, I am gift challenged. I do not know how to choose gifts. In June, I was in a full blown panic attack over what gift to give to
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Counting
June 3, 2019
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Sylvia
Dear Eddie, Here we go again, planning another gathering at our home. This time, it is to celebrate our 50th Wedding Anniversary. The wedding planning website where the invitation is
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The Windsor
April 15, 2019
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Eddie
Darling Sylvia, Yesterday, while getting dressed for church, it took me four tries to tie a Windsor knot. I was in a macho mood and decided to wear a tie.
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Beautiful
March 30, 2019
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Sylvia
Darling Eddie, There, you did it again. You made something beautiful; more accurately, you made something else beautiful in my world. are dependable to show appreciation of me, to be
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Not 22
February 28, 2019
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Eddie
Darling Sylvia, I heard moans as I got out of the car. I looked around and realized the sounds were my own. I am 71 and not 22. I had
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At the Table
January 17, 2019
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Sylvia
Dear Eddie: We have a wonderful dining table. We have probably spent years of our lives at the table. We discovered the table in your parents’ basement the summer we
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Slippery
December 10, 2018
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Eddie
Darling Sylvia, It was a frigid fall morning in Georgia, and I fell on the slippery ice. The bank had not turned off its automatic sprinklers, the sidewalk was uphill,
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Lists
November 6, 2018
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Sylvia
Dear Eddie, Sometimes, I feel like we are being chased by lists. Lists help me to organize, and lists work for pleasant tasks, but being chased by lists messes with my
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Participatory Sport
October 2, 2018
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Eddie
Darling Sylvia, Our marriage, like my football, is a participatory sport. Neither is a game for the timid. There can be no half way measures. In our marriage, we wholeheartedly
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The Knack
August 28, 2018
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Sylvia
Dear Eddie: You have a knack. What a funny word but the proper one. You have “an acquired or natural skill” at performing a task. You really have a
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In Position
July 28, 2018
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Eddie
Darling Sylvia, Living in the moment and intentionally putting ourselves in position where miracles can happen are skills that we have honed together. They are gifts you gave me that keep
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Watching You
June 24, 2018
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Sylvia
Dear Eddie, A great pleasure in my life is watching you. Over the years, cameras have repeatedly captured my rapt expression as I watch you carrying on. You could be
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Tux versus Suit
May 20, 2018
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Eddie
Dear Sylvia: I had been proactive and given Charity my old tux to be refitted. You asked me if I had spoken to her about it. I saw the words
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Bluebonnets
April 26, 2018
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Eddie
Darling Sylvia, Bluebonnets, Mariposa Lilies, Indian Paintbrush and Starry-Eyed Grass welcomed us back to a Texas spring. We had made a mistake in our flight plans and found ourselves
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Turning Toward
March 29, 2018
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Sylvia
Dear Eddie, It is an invaluable gift that we learned to turn toward one another–often, daily, in joy, in fun, in trouble, in anger. Dr. John Gottman describes the turning
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Friends that became Lovers
March 3, 2018
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Eddie
Darling Sylvia, We were friends that became lovers. It all started when we were assigned as lab partners in Dr. Potter’s Bonehead Chemistry Lab. You were bright, hot, and safe.
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Play
January 15, 2018
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Sylvia
Darling Playmate, I have laughed often lately at how we play. We get the giggles in the kitchen. We get silly in the bathroom. We share jokes with each other
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Earbuds
December 14, 2017
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Eddie
Darling Sylvia, No earbuds were in my ears. I was a half a mile into my daily walk and realized that I had left my ipod behind. I admit that
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Change
November 21, 2017
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Sylvia
Dear Eddie, change seems to be inevitable. Cornered by change? Blessed by change? Opportunities for change. Can’t get away from that word. We have just “fallen back in the fall.”
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We Two
October 15, 2017
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Eddie
Darling Sylvia – I love we two moments. Hidden in the weeds beside the Polly Ann Trail, we spotted bottled gentians (Gentiana andrewsii) and turtleheads (Chelone glabra). The delicate blue
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Taken For Granted
September 17, 2017
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Sylvia
Dear Eddie: There are so many things in my life that are taken for granted. At the northern end of what became Tropical Storm Irma, we had it easy,
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Pacemaker
August 24, 2017
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Eddie
Dearest Sylvia, My pacemaker is a small device placed in my chest that uses electrical impulses to keep my heartbeat going. I received my Medtronic pacemaker eleven years ago when
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Community
August 5, 2017
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Sylvia
Dear Eddie, everybody needs community. In family memory, this will always be the summer of Buzz, the Turkey Vulture who joined the family at the lake in Michigan. He might
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Only One
July 3, 2017
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Eddie
Darling Sylvia, you are my only one. Beefsteak tomatoes 3 inches across, cut 3/8 of an inch thick, sandwiched between leaves of curly red basil, topped with 2 strips of
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Honeymoons
June 21, 2017
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Sylvia
Darling Eddie, Honeymoons are on my mind. Forty-eight years ago this evening, you and I headed out together. We stayed in our Grayling apartment, left pansies on our dining table,
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Worth Doing Well
May 8, 2017
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Eddie
Darling Sylvia, if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well. It’s early morning. You are a slug a bug in bed. Last night you couldn’t sleep. I’ve just spent two
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The Perfect Age
April 8, 2017
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Sylvia
Dear Eddie, I am “the perfect age.” Thank you for being my partner. I felt you cringe under my right elbow when my orthopedist’s Physician’s Assistant, surely no older than
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Listen to Me, Eddie Bert
March 1, 2017
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Sylvia
Listen to Me, Eddie Bert! Darling Sylvia, Listen to me, Eddie Bert! How many times over the last fifty-two years have you made that simple request. Listening has never been
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Reposo is a Gift
February 13, 2017
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Sylvia
Dear Eddie, Reposo is a gift. Most marriages could use one. The best reminder of our wonderful trip to Italy is the adoption of reposo into our daily life. We
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Shake the Seasonal Blues
December 31, 2016
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Eddie
Darling Sylvia, Thank you for helping me shake the seasonal blues. I had returned to my dark place. In that pit, I grieved for the loss of dad thirty-six years
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Living Out Loud
December 9, 2016
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Sylvia
Dear Eddie, Let’s talk about living out loud. We are a little frayed by recent heavy stuff—heavy good and heavy sad. We are grateful for the couples who have lived
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Loving in the Now.
October 25, 2016
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Eddie
Darling Sylvia, Loving in the Now. Back in 1966, we began dreaming about what the future would hold. Were we going to be together forever? How would we make
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Letting Go
September 19, 2016
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Sylvia
Dear Eddie, Letting Go is hard, especially when I am not sure what I am hanging on to. I am sure this problem applies to things, to behaviors, and even
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Cheerleader
July 21, 2016
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Eddie
Darling Sylvia, Thank you for being my cheerleader. I have an ambiguous relationship with raccoons. In 1965, I worked for the Crawford County Road Commission as Restroom Attendant Badge #278.
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Different Views Yield Different Fruit
June 18, 2016
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Sylvia
Dear Eddie, Different views yield different fruit. It’s June, and you and I are picking blueberries. If we escape a freeze in April and we have rain, we have berries
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Reverse pivot to the baseline
May 22, 2016
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Eddie
Darling Sylvia, For thirty years at Reinhardt University I taught my biology students that the primary organs for listening are the ears. You have, however, taught me that the primary
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Mission Update
April 20, 2016
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Sylvia
Dear Eddie, There is no time to waste; no threat, just fact. Neither of us is sick; life is good. But, we have less days of life to spend than
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The Lead Horse and The Jackass
March 25, 2016
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Eddie
Darling Sylvia, I remember sitting in the truck at Lumberjack Park and talking for hours about who we were and what our future would be like. We both understood that
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Two for the Road
March 9, 2016
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Sylvia
Dear Eddie, Thank you for our weekend road trip. I heard a woman say those words at the gym the other day, and I thought, “That is just what we
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Nutter Butters
February 23, 2016
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Eddie
Darling Sylvia, At 5:50 AM, I got up and let out the cat. I took my pills and put on the coffee. I called to the kids to get up.
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A Cloud of Witnesses
February 6, 2016
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Sylvia
Darling Eddie: I thank you from the bottom of my heart for a decision you made back in the seventies. You decided that it was important to place our marriage
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Sealed with a Kiss
January 21, 2016
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Eddie
Darling Sylvia, Last Monday, I had my second cataract removed. I had been told by a friend that after her surgery it was like living in high definition (HD). I
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First Kiss
December 21, 2015
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Eddie
Dearest Sylvia, I can remember when and where I stole my first kiss from you. It was 49 years ago in front of Newberry Hall after the Delt Sig hayride.
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A Nose for Christmas
December 5, 2015
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Eddie
Darling Sylvia, In the boys’ dormitory at 501 Ottawa Street, Grayling, Michigan, a manly nose which recorded a history of past events was a family trademark to be treasured. I
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Resting
November 9, 2015
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Sylvia
Dear Eddie—I’ve been thinking how we have relearned the practice of resting together. I get fried; we get fried. We need physical and emotional rest. I am so glad we
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Still Your Rooster
October 16, 2015
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Eddie
Darling Sylvia, On October 10, I celebrated 50 years of knowing you were in my world. On the dance floor of the Country Club of Detroit (the GPHS 50th Reunion),
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King of the Do Over
September 23, 2015
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Eddie
Darling Sylvia, I celebrated Labor Day by taking our seven year old grandson in the truck for a boys-only adventure. We took our 10% off coupon to Lowe’s and purchased
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Default
September 9, 2015
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Sylvia
Dear Eddie: Last week, we took part in a Virtual Marriage Enrichment Group about Differences. A couple shared that when they are vulnerable, their differences rise up. Under stress, you
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It’s Your Attitude, Eddie!
August 26, 2015
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Eddie
Darling Sylvia, I vividly remember our first fight in the fall of 1967. We were leaving Tyler Dining Hall. The fight started when you stated the obvious; “It’s your attitude
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The Gerbil Wheel
August 12, 2015
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Sylvia
Our “retirement” is much more active than we anticipated. Our family needs us in ways we did not plan. There are still endless tasks to be accomplished. In stress, I
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Going Home: Being the Boy, Becoming the Man
July 28, 2015
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Eddie
Darling Sylvia, On the eve of returning to Grayling for my 50th high school reunion, I have been thinking a lot about the boy that left Grayling and the man
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Regular Scheduled Maintenance
July 13, 2015
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Sylvia
Our home needs regular scheduled maintenance: the siding around the outside faucet is crumbling; the privet is overgrowing the fence; a heat pump is over 20 years old. Cars need
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My Love is an Action Word
June 27, 2015
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Eddie
My darling, Sylvia, Last week, while we were trying to find private space to celebrate our 46th anniversary, I came to the realization that my love for you is an
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Is There Hope for Marriage?
June 2, 2015
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Eddie & Sylvia Robertson
Is there hope for marriage today? We believe there is hope, but, as with all valuable things, marriages must be protected and nurtured. Our son, Nate, trail named Maple Leaf,
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Electronics and Marriage
May 30, 2015
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Eddie & Sylvia Robertson
What about Today’s Electronics and Marriage? We were asked for our thoughts on how cell phones, computers, and all of the ever-changing technologies have influenced marriage and especially communication for
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Ought to be Required
May 30, 2015
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Sylvia
“Ought to be required” “Since you two are marriage enrichment leaders, you need to go to see the movie Hope Springs. It’s good; maybe ought to be required for the
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