41st Anniversary

41 years ago today, Verva and I got married on a very hot day in a church in Concord, California. We had little concept of time but loved each other and wanted to be together. We thought that we understood the commitment we made to one another. It is a commitment. It takes two people working together to make a marriage work and we learned that early on. Last year we celebrated our 40^th anniversary in England. This year we decided on a much quieter approach and went for a nice walk in Pine Gulley Park in Seabrook, a town near where we live. We can look back at every year and remember the important events – we do this every New Years and on our anniversaries. They are all good memories built on a strong and trusting relationship. That relationship can stand the current crisis and provide us with the basis for getting through it successfully. I asked my dad once what the secret to a long marriage was and he said “pick the right woman to start with”. Verva’s my strength, my support and my best friend.

Other big news – Katy and Scott are expecting their first child and our first grandchild in October. Talk about exciting. We feel especially fortunate that they’re here on assignment and not in Virginia. We’ll get to help them and get to know the baby until next July.

Lastly, you’ve all read Rindy’s comments on my blog and, although it was very difficult to get, here is a picture of us at the Blood Dinner last Saturday.