Thirty-Two

 

Thirty-Two

 

By John W. Vander Velden 

Each person has moments when their lives change dramatically. Some are anticipated events that bring expected results. But most often, even in changes we have longed to occur, there are some surprises along the way. 

I guess I had given up hope, before I met her. I had reached acceptance of myself and my life as a single person. Coming to that point was a slow drawn out process. But I had. I recognized that I had to respect myself, and enjoy my life as it was. Reaching that destination, I TRUSTED that God had placed me in the life I had been given, and must go forward without attempting to force my existence into another form. 

That’s when the unexpected happened. 

I believe the most wonderful events are the unexpected surprises that “knock your socks off”. I met Jackie by chance at my youngest brother’s wedding. Truthfully not a bad place to start an acquaintance. That was a beginning, it was not some storybook kind of tale you might view on a Hallmark Channel. It was a start of two very human people…meeting…getting to know one another…realizing our commonalities… understanding our differences, and growing closer. 

You see, when I gave up looking for love…love found me… 

On a snowy Saturday some years later, my life changed…dramatically. Many of those changes were expected…some were not. How could a thirty-seven year old man be so unprepared? Perhaps because he WAS thirty-seven. Every road has some bumps but with time, patience, experience, and love, we have managed to smooth out the way substantially. 

When we look forward at a time period, the years seem to stretch far into the distance, but when we look back…well things look differently. We certainly would not have considered ourselves youngsters on that Saturday. Yet now thirty-two years later when I look back, it is hard not to see how young and naïve we were. 

Yet what an adventure we began that day. The places we have gone, the things we have seen, the experiences along the way. A child born, raised, and sent out on his own wings. Challenges met. Crisis averted. Loved ones lost. We shared joys. We shared tears. We shared grand achievements. We stood together in our failures. The binding grows stronger with each year. The time we have in common greater than the before…for her, and nearly equal for me. 

Love is a verb! 

But the energy required for love to grow has, with time, diminished. Perhaps it is the shared history, but I believe our love is tied to our undying mutual respect for one another. An honest acceptance of the other’s strengths and weaknesses. Reaching the point where the other…“the better half’s”… needs exceed our own. 

Each day, is for me, another gift that I have been blessed to share with the one person…the only person…I long to spend those hours with...Jackie. 

Thirty- two years ago I willingly joined a team…a team of two. For a time it was a team of three, but it’s just the two of us again. No, we are not alone in the world. No, there are many that hold special portions of our lives. But when the lights go out and when the sun rises again, it is just us…the two of us. And has been for thirty-two wonderful years… 

3-16-2021 (563 Words)