42 Years

Tonight we had a nice seafood dinner to celebrate 42 years together.  42 years ago we had bologna and bread for supper at 11:30 from a convenience store which was the only thing open; we were hungry.  Thankfully, we didn’t have to eat bologna sandwiches tonight.

 

 

Back in 2012, I wrote 40 things about my husband, me, and/or our married life.  Rather than try to come up with 42 new things about us, I am just reposting what I wrote a couple of years ago.  I will add a couple of new things and I may add a new comment here and there.  42 Years!


1.  Fiat Spider - We had so much fun in this little red convertible in the first few years of our marriage  - $250!  Paint, new tires, and fun!  I have a cute picture of me in this car when I was 8 months pregnant.  I will post that one of these days.

2.  OETA - Watch this channel a lot.  We are so boring!!  (Still watching our many favorites there; Downton Abby, Mr. Selfridge, Doc Martin, etc.)

3.  Births - Two beautiful children, a boy - 1974 and a girl - 1977

4.  Christmas - We are traditionalists at heart opting for red and green and using the same decorations year after year, adding one new one each year, opening our presents on Christmas morning just as we have done for 40 years.  42 and counting...............

5.  Vacations - We love a driving vacation not knowing exactly where we will be each night.  We usually have a destination in mind, but the route may change by the hour. 

6.  Tinker AFB - Allowed us to give our children the life they became accustomed to.  People often knock their jobs, even I have.  All in all, Tinker was the best thing that happened to either one of us.

7.  Death - Our marriage started out two days after my favorite grandmother passed away.  Such a sad time for all of us, but we made it through.  My future hubby moved all my things to his place the night before my wedding since I was with my family--bless his heart.  Actually, he dumped them in the living room of his house.  Literally dumped them.   (Since this was written, we have lost more family members.  The pain of those losses is still very great.)

 

 

I love this photo.  It looks like we are all three a little stunned.  I guess we were.  We went from the saddest time of our lives only the day before and here we are trying to make merry.  I remember it being challenging, but not nearly for me as it was for Daddy and Momma.  All these years later, I don’t know how they did it. 

8.  Building of Our Home - A challenge for any married couple.  We were so naive.  Love our house, but would do things so differently today.  (We have had a couple of changes in the last two years.  We added a sunroom and have opened up the wall between the dining room and living room.)

9.  Anxious Moments and Stress - Did I mention building a house?  As most couples, we have our fair share of stressful and anxious situations.  Some almost unbearable, but with God's grace we have made it.

10.  Red River - our favorite place to be.  At least it is for me.

11.  Mimosa - Our second home in 1973 is on Mimosa Drive - $8500.  In the last year, there was a murder there, in our old house.  Oh how sad that the happy place for us ended in tragedy for someone else.

12.  Corvette - Hubby had a 1960 Corvette when we met.  I might come in a distant second to that car.  Over the years we have had a 1957, 1958, and a 1964 Corvette.  Did you know that?  Wish we had them back.

13.  Valentine - On our first Valentine's Day, before we married, I split my scalp open.  Future hubby came to the rescue with mercurochrome.

14.  Grandchildren - Two little boys are our life.  (Now they are 6 and 9, and soon they will have a little sister if the ultrasounds were correct.)

15.  Retirement - On the day I retired, I skipped out early (about 9:30 a.m.).  Hubby met me with tears in his eyes as I drove in the garage and said "We made it, Babe."  I will never forget that moment.

16.  Poetry - Did you know that my hubby quoted me poetry on almost every date?  Do not think Dobie Gillis and beatniks, but if you do, you are as old as we are. 

17.  Paris - I never thought we would be able to go to Paris together.  Thank you, Tinker!

18.  Jaguar - Our new little joy!  Having fun!

19.  The Love Machine - Our first movie together.

20.  Glen's Hickory Inn - Hubby bought a new suit for our wedding and the week before the event he wore it - waitress dropped a bowl of sour cream on him.  This was our favorite restaurant.  Wish we could have one more night there.  Some of the picture that were at Glen's are now hanging at Cattlemen's.

21.  Pike's Peak - Been to Pike's Peak three times, but never been to the top....maybe 2012????

22.  Oatmeal - We have our oatmeal almost every morning setting in our comfy chairs in front of the front room windows.  Something we really enjoy.  (Two years later and we are still having our oatmeal in those same chairs.  What do they say about old habits????)

23.  Air gun Shows - Hubby's hobby for the last 10 or 15 years.  He has a table and brings all these antique and hobby air guns and BB guns to the Arkansas Air gun Show.  I go with him....and look for antiques...and read magazines.

24.   Stormy - Our little best friend and has been for 10 years now.  What will we ever do without him?

25.  Norman - Our third home was in Norman; lived there for 3 years.

26.  Waterbed - We have been sleeping on a waterbed for 40 years.  Last holdout.....  (Since I wrote this, we bought a regular mattress.)

27.  How we met - I had car trouble and he came to the rescue and took me to work.  The car was less than a year old, but I promise I did NOT rig the car.

28.  Duplex - Our first home.  He owned his duplex and I lived in the one across the street.

29.  Birds of Paradise - Hubby bought me these flowers when our son was born.  When our daughter was born, he brought me an ivy in a Corvette ceramic planter.  Anybody see anything strange about that?

30.  Walking - Two years ago we were walking almost 3 miles a day.  Now we never do.  (I bought new shoes.............but still haven't walked............I feel ashamed about that.)

31.  Yosemite - Rented a convertible for this vacation.  One of our very favorite trips.  Would love to do that trip again, and the one to Seattle, and the one to Canada, and the one to Washington, D.C. and the one to Maine, and the one to Florida, and the one to Niagara Falls.  I could go on and on.  We have been so blessed.

32.  Cat - We have had a cat for the last 40 years - not the same cat.  (Sadly, our little Nikki died 6 months ago.)

33. Hawaii - Thanks to Tinker we spent 17 days there.  What a wonderful TDY/vacation for our first anniversary.

34.  Books - Hubby used to buy tons of books and still has them.  He also has over a thousand albums, just about as many CDs, and more MP3s than anybody I know.  The other music media?  Who knows?  And now he has Pandora and a million other ways of accessing music.  Need another house for his hobbies.

35.  Engagement - While I was Christmas shopping in Shepherd Mall in 1971, hubby snuck away to Kurt Lichter's jewelry store, Treasure's Incorporated, across the street and bought a diamond.  I had put a pot roast in the oven before we left.  It was 10:30 p.m. when we returned to my duplex.  I was tired, hungry, and I still had to put that meal together...and the house smelled like pot roast......stunk...well, to me it stunk.  I will mention again I was tired, I was hungry, and I was plain old cranky.  I just burst into tears, crying my eyes out..........Didn't take long for him to ask me to marry him.  Poor guy.  He told me he bought the diamond.  Later we picked out the mounting.  People, I promise you I don't use the tear factor anymore, but now that I think about it.........hmmmmmmm 

37.  Fiddler on the Roof - We looked forward to watching this all week, but the night it came on TV our little son was only 12 hours old.  It was on the TV, but we couldn't stop talking about our little boy and our plans for our future to even look up at the TV.  Excitement was in the air!!!!!!!

38.  Trips to Arkansas - Every 5 or 6 weeks, we made a trip to Conway, AR, leaving after work on Friday evenings, returning on Sunday afternoon, two little kids in tow.  They grew up in that back seat.  Many, many future plans were made during those 22 years that Mrs. Tucker was a part of our lives.

39.  5 Acres - Now these little 5 acres have been home for the last 34 years.  It would be difficult to live anywhere else.  Go back to the poem I put in my post a few weeks ago.  Reread it and you will understand.


40.  I was 23 when I married and weighed 110 pounds.  He was 30 and weighed 130 pounds.  Needless to say we have gained a little weight.


41.  Neither of us has ever had a speeding ticket.

40 (NOW 42).  I have thought and thought about what to end these 40/42 things with.  Many things I haven't mentioned including our extended families, the love and support of our parents and siblings, etc., and our love for them.  The death of each of our parents was particularly painful, (and now the death of our brother-in-law and Johnny's sister) but also a bonding time.  I think for number 40/42 I will just say "intangibles"; the things that cannot be measured, the things that are private, the glue, the fabric of our lives.  Remember, these are not in any particular order!  If you are reading this, then probably you, too, have been a part of the last 40/42 years and we love you.

AND HERE WE GO!