Show and Tell: Past, Present, and Future

PAST: It all started in the 70's. My mom and dad met, dated and got married. The picture of them was taken on their wedding day, June 14, 1975. I remember looking at those pictures when I got old enough to do the math and would point to her stomach and say "there I am". She didn't like that much. She was about 3 months pregnant with me when they got married. The both look so beautiful and happy in this picture. I love looking at them. I love the typical 70's style my dad's got going on with his hair and 'stash. There was never any doubt in my mind that my parents loved each other. I know my dad misses my mom terribly, but he is going on as best he can. He still wears his wedding ring and has my mom's wedding ring on a chain around his neck. Their love is still so true and deep, even though he is living the rest of his life without her.

PRESENT: I was a junior in high school when I met my husband. He was going into the navy and we didn't really want to start anything to serious. It didn't work. We dated for a month and then he left to spend two years in the navy. It was a short duration in the military, but it was long enough for us. There were months of not seeing each other, week of not talking to each other, but lots of letters and lots of tears. I, honestly, don't think we would have gotten to know each other as well, if he hadn't joined the navy. Although, I hated those 2 years, I am very thankful we were put into that situation. He has given me the strength to go on when I didn't think I could. He has always been the one to talk me off the ledge and tell me I can and will do "this". Whatever "this" is. I will always remember the day we went to the funeral home to talk about what our plans were, after my mom died. There were papers to read and sign. The funeral director was very kind and understand, but of course, the papers needed to be read and signed. I couldn't read them, I could barley think. My little sister could read them, neither could my older sister. My dad couldn't see well enough to read them, so that left my husband. He took the papers and read every word, out loud, to us. I know it wasn't easy for him because ALL of us were sobbing. When he got to the difficult part about my mom's remains and what our choice was, he stumbled a bit. I know he didn't want to have to read that, but it had to be done. And he did it. He read those words for my family. He did a wonderful thing for us. He was and is my rock. We've had our rough spots, but there has never been a time in our relationship where I questioned our love for each other.

FUTURE: I don't know what the future holds for us, nobody knows. I do know, no matter what happens, we will be OK. There will be ups and there will be downs. I hope that I can be strong enough for my husband during the downs. I hope I can be strong enough for my family during the downs. I hope I can be strong enough for MYSELF for the downs. Most importantly, I hope we can all rejoice in the ups. I hope the downs don't overshadow any of the ups. I'm going to do my best to live in the moment and rejoice the ups.

Go and check out Mel's blog and see what everyone else is bringing to class. So many interesting stories.