Lori and I are about to share a new and exciting adventure in our lives. As I sat down to tell you about it, I saw that this column from April 9, 2018 was liked on FB by an old friend. It was written when I still worked for The Churches of Christ Disaster Relief Effort. I decided this was the perfect segue while I tell you our news next week.
A LETTER TO MY YOUNGER SELF ON LORI’S SIXTIETH BIRTHDAY APRIL 9th
Dear Ken,
I know you are just a few months away from marrying Lori. August 25th will be our fortieth anniversary. In the next few months you will be tempted to get cold feet. Don’t be stupid. The life ahead of you is even better than you could have dreamed. The love of your family until now is just a hint of what is ahead. Lori is not only your best friend now but she will be even closer to you as the years go by. You will have several years with her before you have kids, enjoy every minute of it like I did. It is a time you will always cherish but it will get even better. The next milestone will be worth the wait.
Sharing the birth of your new baby with her will be an indescribable thrill. After giving birth to your son she will selflessly give you the moment of seeing your son open his eyes for the first time. Those tiny brown eyes will change your life forever. You will get to enjoy that thrill with the birth of your daughter a couple of years later, then with the birth of another precious son. Your little family will be the center of your life. Raising them in the Lord will become second nature, your avocation.
Your life with Lori and your kids will be far from normal. Lori’s work will take her away from home for weeks at a time. Don’t worry, God will always keep her safe and bring her back. But often you and the kids will get to travel with her.
As a matter of fact, your travels will take you to almost every state and several countries. Your kids will get to live a life most people can only dream of. They will cherish the childhood you and Lori will give them.
It’s not that there won’t be tough times; there will be. Some will seem very dark indeed. But as God promised, he won’t give you more than you can bear. You will suffer through those dark times together, depending on each other for strength.
You will learn to admire Lori even more for her heart. She will do anything for you and your kids. She will selflessly give herself the smallest portion or do without for her family and never complain. When you or your kids are sick and even in the hospital, she won’t leave your side until you go home. She will spend more than a few nights in a hospital room chair. Don’t even bother to try to make her leave, she won’t go. I’d tell you more detail, but I know I shouldn’t. I will say that everything will turn out ok. I will share the words of a song you will love someday, by a guy from Oklahoma.
“…I’m glad I didn’t know, the way it all would end, the way it all would go. Our lives, are better left to chance, I could have missed the pain, but I would have to miss, the dance.” Whatever adversity you face you will do it with your best friend Lori by your side… always.
I’d tell you about the .com boom but I’m afraid if I made you rich you just might mess things up. I wouldn’t change a thing.
Now, Lori is retired, and it is me that travels all over the country. You would never guess what I do now but I won’t spoil the surprise. Let’s just say that marrying Lori has made you a better man. She travels with me a lot, but your grandkids are the center of her universe. It’s hard to compete with them for her time. But that’s ok. Often, I have to be away for a month or more and I almost always drive. I can hardly leave the driveway when I start missing Lori. I spend the entire time wishing I was back with her. Sometimes I will be over two thousand miles away from home and when it is time to turn my car back to Texas there is little delay. My routine is to stop for gas, food and …. relief, usually all in the same stop, then back on the road, I count the hours until I can get back to Lori.
A little while ago I got home from a very long trip. On the last day of the trip back, I drove from early in the morning and kept driving until I got to our familiar street well past midnight. Lori didn’t expect me home until the next day, so I knew she would be asleep. I opened our bedroom door and told her I was home, trying not to alarm her. I sat on the bed and held her for a long time. Then I cupped her face in my hands and who I saw was not a middleaged woman. I saw who I always see, through your loving eyes. The beautiful seventeen-year-old girl we fell in love with.
- Log in or Subscribe to post comments.