Archives March 2016

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 we were strong personalities.  We were sure we would love our way through the fact that we were both lead horses.  Some of our adult (21 year old) wisdom was right on the money.  One thing we missed in our in-love hormonal haze was that you were indeed a lead horse but I was really a jackass.

It took me another forty years to join the two phrases “I am sorry,” and  “I was wrong.“ During our years of marriage, there have been times when the we would have been better off if I could have said the couplet without choking.  In more recent years, I am trying to learn a second couplet, “Please forgive me“ and “What can I do to make it right?“  I still have some time to unlearn the old ways and learn new ways.  Let’s grow this marriage together.

Yours,   Eddie B.

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 need!” Our road trips are great! Sometimes, they have destinations; other times, we just go and see where we land. They may be short or long. Always, I enjoy the quiet “in the moment” time with you punctuated by the sharing of what we see and the remembering of past experiences. I continue to cherish moments with just you, looking ahead side by side.

An afternoon trip to see Grandpa and Aunt Nellie on the farm—big kids, a couple, away from the campus. The crystal palace of Minnehaha Falls. Eagles on the ice at Red Wing. Migrating birds at Point Pelee. Sandhills. Catfish heads on fence posts. Glacier lilies in the snow. And pink lady slippers. Ice fog on everything at Clingman’s Dome. “Oh, look-a Ruby-crowned Kinglet.” And, spring after spring, the red maples foretelling the redbud and dogwood to come. And, “Do you remember?” It is glue for you and me.

Thank you for staying in touch with me. When we are “caught up” on the “work” of life and marriage, we are free to enjoy revitalizing play together. Even when we do have some of that “work” talk to do on the road, it feels like teamwork instead of a chore.

Looking ahead side by side.

Let’s make time to road trip often.

Love, Sylvia