My husband (Terry) and I had a whirlwind courtship (Who says that anymore?) and engagement, getting married in January 1982. Last month we celebrated 29 years together. And the 6 month before that....
We did everything you are not supposed to do to have a long and lasting marriage.1. We met at work. (Office romances never work.)
I was a 31 year old divorced Mom of a 7 year old daughter. He was a single, 26 year old cutie. I was 5 years out of an abusive marriage. He had 2 girlfriends that lived 200 miles apart and, of course, did not know about each other. I wasn't looking for a husband. I was looking for some excitement. He was 5 years younger than me. Seriously... a baby. He was a player. He was obviously not looking for a wife.
We worked together for about a year before I asked him out. Refer back to "I Am Woman- I can do anything...." Our Birthdays are a week apart. His July 9th and mine is July 16th so I asked him to come over to my house for a Birthday drink. (frozen, fresh strawberry daiquiris). He did....where he proceeded to ask me about 500 job interview questions. In addition to all the first date questions, he asked: Do you make Christmas cookies? Would you like to have more children? I sat in one chair and he sat on the couch. We drank a bottle of wine, asked and answered questions until it was almost dawn.
That weekend Daughter #1 and I were sharing a cabin "up north" (only in Michigan is a compass setting a destination). Terry called in a sick at work. He joined us for 2 days. He just jumped in. Met my daughter and my parents and had our first date in the same week.
2. 2 weeks later, he proposed. Within a month of our first date, I had engagement ring on my finger.
3. 6 months later, on January 9th, we were married. We would have gotten married sooner but I wanted to claim "Head of Household" one more year on my taxes. Always the sensible one.
4. We had Daughter # 2 the next January 25th, just a couple of weeks after our 1st Anniversary. 2 years later we had Daughter # 3.
From the beginning Terry sang this song to me. If I could only get him to do the choreography too.
What do we say to our daughters about all of this? We tell them don't you dare do what we did. The chances of that working were slim. We are incredibly lucky.
2 comments:
Thanks for visiting my blog, fellow boomer. And congrats on the anniversary. I have to admit that your courtship sounds similar to my own--met my wife at the office where we worked, worked together for a year before we dated, married less than a year later . . . and our birthdays are a couple weeks apart. Will be married 32 years come this May.
And one of our first dates was going to up my parents cabin up north where they were spending the weekend.
But unlike you guys, we're not likely to leave Michigan despite my disdain for all this snow and cold. Too many roots and branches here now.
I had known my hubby from childhood ran into him as a checker at a safeway, married not too long after a whirlwind coutship long distance...we had our only child 3 1/2 years later..Our only child is so spoiled she only wants a fellow like her daddy and so she is single and content with her tiny cat and many friends..guess she only wants someone like her daddy..probably the kid who delivered our newspapers one year and stayed around forever talking to her..she called him too square, figure he is the ringer, he has never ever married and always comes by the holidays to drop off presents for the princess. Ha laught out loud..his mother even calls me to see when the princess will be in town and she rushes over with goodies..oh, have times changed for some..love your blog..it cracks me up, all the oldie stories which to me are the best when people actually listened to each other and songs were from the am radio..keep truckin, happy anniversary very late, I am married almost 38 years and the times have been almost all great..mjs from the 'couv..
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