Happy Anniversary Mr. L

I wondered why my husband came to me in my dreams last night -- in fact, I remember wondering during the dream why he was spending time with me now -- it had been quite a while since he died that he had come to me thru the only way that we can now be together....and woke up this morning remembering that it was November 24th -- what would've been our 47th Wedding Anniversary!!

You see, 47 years ago today we were married, my Mr. L and I. I will briefly introduce you to him -- he was a big, well-muscled man standing almost 6'3" tall whose hair turned blonde in the summer sun and his skin a golden color accenting his icy blue eyes....a country boy who grew up knowing all the hard work of bailing hay in the summer, picking tomatoes -- whatever work was available to earn money while in high school -- and graduating to go on into the Marine "Corps which finished molding him into the man that I grew to love and who made my heart sing!!

He knew all the dirty words and foul language but I never heard him use them in front of a woman or child. He was well-mannered and only chose to spend his time with people he respected and cared about (if you were allowed into his close circle you were indeed a superb human being). He did his job well and I don't remember him missing work because he was sick. He never demanded out of people who worked for him that which he wasn't willing and able to do himself. And I always felt safe with him -- heaven help the person or persons who threatened to harm himself, his loved ones or his family.

He loved to fish and hunt and enjoyed outdoor sports. When we were dating and first married, he would take me out to the country ponds in the winter after the ice froze solid, build a bonfire and work at teaching me to ice skate (which I learned and grew to love -- especially watching snow fall softly in the quite of the country on those ponds). He always brought a flask of peach brandy to 'warm you up inside' but I realize as I write this that it probably was to loosen me up so that I wouldn't be so afraid of trying to iceskate. He LOVED cold weather and it never seemed to affect him -- he always attributed this to winter survival training at Pickle Meadows in the mountains in California during his stint in the Marine Corps.

I first caught his attention as he was driving to work on that ice and snow one day -- I was waiting in the median to finish crossing the street as he drove by and when he turned back to take a second look, I wasn't standing there anymore -- no, I was flat on my back in the middle of the street having fallen on that ice and snow and so after that he began watching for me in the mornings. We had a mutual friend (tho we didn't know it at the time) who worked with me and was always trying to fix us up but we both kept telling him 'no' for he was geeky and neither of us wanted to date one of his 'geeky' friends:) Plus, my Mr. L kept telling him there was this girl on 16th street he wanted to meet....but Bill was very persistent and we finally agreed to a blind date to get him off our backs and lo and behold, I was 'that girl' he had been wanting to meet. Six months later, on this date, we started our journey thru life together. TALK ABOUT DESTINY!!!

Sadly enough, thirty eight years later on this date, my Mr. L had a massive coronary here at home and I never got to talk with him again -- except in my dreams where occasionally he comes back to visit.

Oh, I so miss your presence -- waking up to the clunk of your coffee cup on the kitchen table -- the rattle of the newspaper you were reading -- the sound of your footsteps.....being awakened for a trip to Michigan with 'Sharon, my love'......all the little things you did around here that I wasn't aware of til you were no longer here to do them. I so miss all that, Mr. L.

But, I also am so grateful for all that and the memories -- the ice skating on the pond -- watching you build snowmen with our children in the winter -- never having to fight the ice and snow by myself for you always did it for me -- the spring and summer fishing trips --- watching you leave to go pheasant and quail hunting in the fall and the wonderful wild game dinners which I knew would follow soon after..........for taking such good care of me in our journey together -- for all this, I thank you Mr. L.

So Happy Anniversary My Love -- I'll see you in my dreams:)

Missy L