How I Met My Wife

Yesterday being the sabbath got me thinking about when I met my wife so that is what I writing about today.

No, this is not my wife, but, when I first met her she was just as attractive, leastwise to me. I understand there is a TV program called "How I Met Your Mother" or something like that. Obviously I have not watched this program 'cause the advertisements indicate too much sexuality and innuendos, plus football is on then and priorities must be met.

How I met my wife. It actually started about two years before I met her. I was serving a two year mission for my church and had been assigned to the area in Ohio where she lived. After serving there for a while I was transferred out but kept in contact with my missionary companion. He wrote me a letter about how he had met a good family and I immediately had an impression of a heavy set, balding man, a heavy set woman with bushy gray hair and a string of kids next to them.

Two years later I left Idaho and went back to Ohio to visit some of the people I had come to really enjoy. One of them was a cute blonde that had caught my fancy or so I thought. As I visited with the blonde and her family I found that she was extremely shallow and my interests were waning. One Sunday I attended church services with her and we arrived late so the meeting was already going. We sat down and I looked up to see who the speaker was and it was my wife to be. I took one look and said to myself, "That is the girl I am going to marry." Blonde? What blonde. I was smitten.

Of course all the members of the congregation made sure I was introduced, the eclesiatical leader got me a job in Cleveland and I headed back to Idaho to get my stuff and get back to serious business. Now did she have the same feelings? Welllllll, maybe not, however when she found I had returned to Idaho she felt something had gone out of her life.

To make a long story short we courted, I asked her parents for her hand in marriage and was basically told, NO!! The parents treated me quite badly and I was upset to the point I was heading back to Idaho. When my fiance knew of this we decided to elope, which we did. We had people tell us that our marriage would never work and all I have to say is this; this January it will be 40 years and we have loved each other more each day so I guess we proved them wrong.

A side note to this story. When we were getting ready to leave and elope we were at her grandparent's house where I was renting a room. We packed our things and was sneakng down the stairs into the kitchen but who should we run into, her aunt and uncle who had come over from Cleveland for a visit. They said, "What are you doing, running off to get married?" We didn't know what to say. There we stood with suitcases and other personal belongings; we were caught. All we could think to say is, "We are going to do some laundry."

Two years later we were back visiting Ohio, staying in her grandparent's home and this time we really were going out to do some laundry. We came down the back stairs into the kitchen and who should we see; her aunt and uncle from Cleveland. "Where are you going?" they asked. "Out to do some laundry." was the answer again. This time we were holding our baby son and her uncle made this statement. "Damn, when you do laundry it takes a long time and strange things happen." looking at our son. We all had a good laugh over that one.

Our life together has had its ups and downs just like everyone else but we have remained true to each other and that is so important. In the future I will write about the death of our son and the impact it had on us. Hope whoever reads this enjoys it.

P.S. When I met my wife's parents it was almost as I had mentally pictured. Her dad was a heavy set balding man, her mother was a heavy set woman with bushy gray hair and they did have six children.