My parents have always been a great example to me on how to treat your spouse. They have been married a long time and have been through a lot together, but through it all their love has never faltered.
I found this story that my dad had written. Telling how he and my mom met. Tomorrow is their anniversary and I thought this story would say a little bit about their beginning.
HOMECOMING NIGHT 1971
In the summer of 1971 I was almost 15 years old but I was still in the last stages of being a little kid. I had lost all interest in Tarzan movies, climbing trees, throwing rocks into the water and running along the sidewalk with my dog. I didn't even have a dog. But I had not yet progressed entirely beyond boyhood.
I was the third child in a family of six boys and zero girls. For me, girls were incredibly mysterious, magical and wonderful. Unfortunately, I navigated each day with social skills that were underdeveloped, under used and terribly deficient in almost every way. I did not know how to talk to girls, I did not know how to talk to their parents and I was very awkward in every social setting that included girls. I tried, but on my best day, I was embarrassingly awkward.
When school started in the fall, I was a sophomore in high school with no girlfriend, very little self confidence and still no clue about how to appropriately socialize and interact with girls. On homecoming night one of the young ladies in my circle of acquaintances, Janice, was grounded. Her parents told her that she could not go anywhere on the weekend, not even to the football game or to the homecoming dance. Instead, she would be allowed to have a few friends come over for the evening. I was one of the friends and I was thrilled. I had no desire to go to the football game and the dance was out of the question. I could not dance, I was too young to date and I had no one to ask even if I could.
On Friday evening the night air of the fall season had a touch of winter making it a little bit cold and totally perfect. As I walked to Janice's house I hoped that I would not do or say anything stupid. For me, being invited to this kind of social event was very significant. It had only happened once or twice in my entire life. I wanted to be cool, especially around girls. I did not want to be a little boy any longer.
As it turned out, I was the only young man who showed up. I guess the others decided that the football game was a better way to spend the evening. They were wrong.
Janice directed us to gather on the front lawn where we sat on blankets. We played some sort of card game, ate chips and drank red punch. I was not interested in the game or the food. I was only interested in LeeAnn West. The most astonishing 14 ----- almost 15 ---- year old girl in the entire world. She was quiet but not withdrawn, confident but not even a little bit smug. She was petite with long, dark hair that fell across her shoulders and she was absolutely, perfectly beautiful. But it was her eyes that set her apart from all of the other attractive girls I had ever seen. She had strikingly beautiful eyes. The few times I made eye contact with her my heart stopped dead for just a moment. How can anyone have eyes like that? Not simply beautiful, dark eyes but eyes with profound, angelic appearance that allowed her to see all the way through to my terrified, pathetic soul and at the same time her eyes projected a message of unlimited comfort, letting me know that she would not turn away or let me fail. And she hardly even knew my name. She was fascinating, alluring and wonderful and I desperately wanted to be cool enough to attract her attention.
During the evening I manufactured two or three excuses to actually say a few words to Miss LeeAnn West. ON the inside, I was filled with apprehension but I tried my best to be calm on the outside. Once I was close enough to touch her hair, but I just couldn't do it. I wanted to find a way to touch her hand or her arm, but there was no opportunity for such a bold move. At one point, for several moments, I found a way to discreetly stand very close to LeeAnn West, and that was all I could handle. My heart was pounding and my breathing was short and shallow, but I didn't collapse or fun for the door.
When the little party was over I had the unbelievable good fortune of walking LeeAnn home. The night air was a little bit cold and since I wanted to be a perfect gentleman, I offered my coat. She accepted, but it may have been for reasons of courtesy and not because she actually wanted to wear my ugly, black jacket. I didn't care about the reason. It was exciting just to see her put it on.
LeeAnn lived very close to Janice's house so the walk home was over about three hours before I wanted it to end. We stood and talked for a few minutes and then she said goodbye. As she started to walk away I waited to see whether she would keep my jacket. I hoped that she would. She did not.
With soft, gentle movements, she pushed the jacket off her shoulders, letting it fall so that her arms slipped effortlessly out of the sleeves. "Hey", she said, "I almost forgot about your coat. Thanks for letting me wear it."
"Oh well", I thought. At least she had it on for a little while. Standing in the darkness, holding my jacket, I almost melted into the sidewalk. The cotton fibers of my black coat held a faint but unmistakable fragrance. It was a mixture of her perfume, her clothes and her hair. On November 13, 1971, in the gray illumination of a street light, I felt like I was standing in heaven.
As I watched LeeAnn West disappear into the darkness, I knew that I loved her. I still do.
Happy 37th wedding anniversary.
Bryn Johnson --- March 4th, 2012
I was the third child in a family of six boys and zero girls. For me, girls were incredibly mysterious, magical and wonderful. Unfortunately, I navigated each day with social skills that were underdeveloped, under used and terribly deficient in almost every way. I did not know how to talk to girls, I did not know how to talk to their parents and I was very awkward in every social setting that included girls. I tried, but on my best day, I was embarrassingly awkward.
When school started in the fall, I was a sophomore in high school with no girlfriend, very little self confidence and still no clue about how to appropriately socialize and interact with girls. On homecoming night one of the young ladies in my circle of acquaintances, Janice, was grounded. Her parents told her that she could not go anywhere on the weekend, not even to the football game or to the homecoming dance. Instead, she would be allowed to have a few friends come over for the evening. I was one of the friends and I was thrilled. I had no desire to go to the football game and the dance was out of the question. I could not dance, I was too young to date and I had no one to ask even if I could.
On Friday evening the night air of the fall season had a touch of winter making it a little bit cold and totally perfect. As I walked to Janice's house I hoped that I would not do or say anything stupid. For me, being invited to this kind of social event was very significant. It had only happened once or twice in my entire life. I wanted to be cool, especially around girls. I did not want to be a little boy any longer.
As it turned out, I was the only young man who showed up. I guess the others decided that the football game was a better way to spend the evening. They were wrong.
Janice directed us to gather on the front lawn where we sat on blankets. We played some sort of card game, ate chips and drank red punch. I was not interested in the game or the food. I was only interested in LeeAnn West. The most astonishing 14 ----- almost 15 ---- year old girl in the entire world. She was quiet but not withdrawn, confident but not even a little bit smug. She was petite with long, dark hair that fell across her shoulders and she was absolutely, perfectly beautiful. But it was her eyes that set her apart from all of the other attractive girls I had ever seen. She had strikingly beautiful eyes. The few times I made eye contact with her my heart stopped dead for just a moment. How can anyone have eyes like that? Not simply beautiful, dark eyes but eyes with profound, angelic appearance that allowed her to see all the way through to my terrified, pathetic soul and at the same time her eyes projected a message of unlimited comfort, letting me know that she would not turn away or let me fail. And she hardly even knew my name. She was fascinating, alluring and wonderful and I desperately wanted to be cool enough to attract her attention.
During the evening I manufactured two or three excuses to actually say a few words to Miss LeeAnn West. ON the inside, I was filled with apprehension but I tried my best to be calm on the outside. Once I was close enough to touch her hair, but I just couldn't do it. I wanted to find a way to touch her hand or her arm, but there was no opportunity for such a bold move. At one point, for several moments, I found a way to discreetly stand very close to LeeAnn West, and that was all I could handle. My heart was pounding and my breathing was short and shallow, but I didn't collapse or fun for the door.
When the little party was over I had the unbelievable good fortune of walking LeeAnn home. The night air was a little bit cold and since I wanted to be a perfect gentleman, I offered my coat. She accepted, but it may have been for reasons of courtesy and not because she actually wanted to wear my ugly, black jacket. I didn't care about the reason. It was exciting just to see her put it on.
LeeAnn lived very close to Janice's house so the walk home was over about three hours before I wanted it to end. We stood and talked for a few minutes and then she said goodbye. As she started to walk away I waited to see whether she would keep my jacket. I hoped that she would. She did not.
With soft, gentle movements, she pushed the jacket off her shoulders, letting it fall so that her arms slipped effortlessly out of the sleeves. "Hey", she said, "I almost forgot about your coat. Thanks for letting me wear it."
"Oh well", I thought. At least she had it on for a little while. Standing in the darkness, holding my jacket, I almost melted into the sidewalk. The cotton fibers of my black coat held a faint but unmistakable fragrance. It was a mixture of her perfume, her clothes and her hair. On November 13, 1971, in the gray illumination of a street light, I felt like I was standing in heaven.
As I watched LeeAnn West disappear into the darkness, I knew that I loved her. I still do.
Happy 37th wedding anniversary.
Bryn Johnson --- March 4th, 2012
2 comments:
Now THAT is one of the most romantic things I've ever read! So so sweet! Happy Anniversary to your parents! :)
Happy Anniversary...nice story Dad...No wonder I am such a good writer! Inherited!
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