Mine Own True Love

There is no more lovely, friendly and charming relationship, communion or company than a good marriage.                                                                Martin Luther

Though buffeted by the storms of life we remain solid

Can you guess what was the first present I got from my husband when we were dating?

If you guessed candy, flowers, cards, jewelry you would be wrong on all four counts.
I was thinking about this as I was moving my ridiculous number of coats from one closet to another. One certain coat never fails to make me smile.

We first started dating in our Sophomore year of college. Mr. G had a lumber jacket I often admired, the red and black Pendelton kind, stocky and hearty. His surprise for me at Christmas was a miniature version of his coat though he had very little money. I was delighted. Now, don't think in terms of those couples who try to dress alike, that was so not us. No heart buttons, no matching shirts but coats, yes. I loved that coat, so much that I still, after 46 years, have it and wear it with pleasure. It's the perfect coat for collecting fire wood, for walking in the woods, for chasing small children and now grandchildren. How did I know that this coat would seal the deal for me? How did I know that the coat, him and me would be together for 46 years?

Love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking outward together in the same direction.                                                                 Antoine de Saint-Exupery

We dated for two years before we became engaged, I was the reluctant one. It was the era when young couples were just starting to "live together". Sounds funny now, but then it was daring. I wouldn't do that figuring it would break my parents heart. It was with a great deal of trepidation Mr. G asked for my hand, my heart, my body and my head. I said, yes. A good decision then and now.

If anyone could view into the future and see all the trials and tribulations that assaults even the best of couples, I doubt that anyone would wed. We were only 21 when we married and our hearts were clear and our goals similar. We knew that we loved each other passionately, we liked the same kinds of people, we made each other laugh, we trusted each other implicitly, we found each other interesting, and most of all we wanted an adventure. We were living in Dayton, Ohio after graduating from college and it was a perfect place to be from. Mr. G applied to many Universities for graduate school and got into them all. The most exotic one was in the Northwest and so that's the one we chose. We packed up our Mustang convertable [loved that car], pulling a UHaul trailer [really stupidly heavy for that car] and moved to the great NW. Ah yes,  I found out I was pregnant. Everything was thrilling for us.

I will write more on the years from our move to the Pacific NW and how we keep the thrill in the thrilling in another post.

A ridiculous statement for today would be "everything is thrilling for us each day." and so it isn't. But more days than not, more months than not, more years than not, more decades than not, we are still thrilled with each other. I must admit that there is a lot of hard work involved in keeping the thrill from being gone. I also must admit there is lots of luck in finding someone who changes in the same direction you are heading. I am so fortunate in that my head, heart, body and mind are in harmony with this man who is my own true love.
susansmagicfeather copyright 2012 Susan R. Grout all rights reserved