1969 - Love at last!

(Was I ever that young?)

Four years later!!
1974
(That is me under that pile of hair!)
Aah! those were the days! Not our finest hour.

I was just off blog surfing and ran across a blog that reminded me of how different my life could be. Let's see. What were my likely choices of mate?

1. Lester - In first grade I loved him madly and cried for him every Friday. He couldn't spell and always failed the spelling test Friday afternoon. So every Friday the teacher spanked him!!! Yep. You heard right...for not spelling correctly. I so wanted to help him. He learned though. He began skipping school every Friday afternoon. He'd go home for lunch, a long walk through the woods and never return to school. No spelling tests for him!

I think he still lives hermit-style in those woods. I wonder if Miss Williams is responsible?

2. Don - the brother of a good friend. Also a country boy. I think he did complete high school and got married. I lost track of him after that. He once kissed me on a dare. (We were 12)

3. Larry - a more serious contender. But not a Christian at the time. I turned down his proposal to date and headed West, California-bound, for Bible College. Before I finished my first year of college, he was married. He's now dead -- heart disease.

4. A couple of Bible College friends -- remote possibilities. One is now dead, the other married.

5. Ah...I had forgotten the one I turned down the summer I was already engaged. A few weeks later he was in a motorcycle accident and never fully recovered.

5. The love of my life -- my hubby -- We've had some rough times, but God has been good. I couldn't ask for more!! And...we're both still breathing and fully functional, mostly!

Grandma Mary with two of her sons, Clarence on the left and my Grandfather Lonnie on the right.

This is my Great Grandmother, Mary. I know so little about her. Her life could not have been easy. She was half Cherokee Indian and married to .... I know nothing about my Great grandfather. I probably should talk to my Dad about his Grandfather. The first picture was taken somewhere between 1910 and 1915, the second was taken in the early 1950's.

I look at her face and wonder. What were her hopes and dreams? Did life measure up to her expectations? What difficulties did she face? Oh, I know that she had to feed and clothe a passel of kids, most of them boys. I know that they lived in rather primitive conditions on the farm. But who was she? What did she think about in those moments of calm and contemplation. What was she thinking in that second picture as she neared the end of her life? I remember seeing her near the time of that picture. I was only about three or so, but just her age was impressive to me. She seemed so fragile, so delicate a bit like a flower that was past its bloom and would fall if you touched the petals.

I really must finish the Heirloom photo album I've started. Some of this history needs to be recorded.