19 on the 19th

     They say that when your age is the same as your birth date it's your golden birthday. What if it's your anniversary?

      I'm not certain as to when we first met but I do remember when she first caught my attention. I used to be called a kid magnet and she was one of those little kids that would gather around me when I was at different church events or so she says but it was at Bible camp (I was faculty and she was a last year student) down on the soccer field where she caught my attention – always in my way (she was on the other team) and flirting with me (Sticking her tongue out at me with her thumbs in her ears.)

     The fall of that year the camp was sponsoring something called Christian Olympics. I was bringing a car load of kids down and she wanted to go so I traveled north to Bemidji (90miles) to get her and bring her down and than returned her afterwards. Well, as it turned out, she forgot her all important calculator in the car and she needed it for her college math courses so I got an envelope and an index card to write a note on and sent it to her and our letter writing back and forth started. Over time I started going to visit the family when the church in Bemidji was having their softball nights.

      I can't say that we dated much but eventually her 19^th birthday rolled around and I gave her a ring with the intention of proposing to her that night – I didn't. Due to a death in the family that same weekend I put off my proposal by a week  or so and on August 4^th 1991 we became engaged. In the coming year I moved to Warroad , MN and took on a higher paying job than I had, and found a place to live and on December 19^th, 1992 we were married. While the plant was on a two week shut down and she was on break from college. Than after a honeymoon along the North Shore of Lake Superior (water falls covered in ice are beautiful) and celebrating Christmas with both sides of the family, we made it home so I could go back to work and my new wife could go back to Bemidji to college.

      Actually, I think when it comes to anniversaries, the 50^th is the golden – both of my Grandparents celebrated theres and my parents will be before to much longer and Lord willing, I hope to do the same -31 years from now.

      Dear Lord, Thank you

• For my wonderful wife Shelly