Wednesday's Walk Down Memory Lane

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I’m coming up on my 29th wedding anniversary June 21! Twenty-nine years is a lllloooonnnngggg ttttiiiimmmmeeee to be married to one man, huh! He would probably say it was a long time to be married to me (and I wouldn’t blame him!) It’s been a love that has matured over the years; there have been various compromises made on both sides; there have also been situations we perceive differently, and never the twain shall meet; there have been abundant blessings, namely our 3 children, our son-in-law, and our two granddaughters! Rodney is a Godly man, who works relentlessly for his family! He has amazing talent to do anything he sets his mind to. I would not know what to do if we had to pay a plumber, electrician, mechanic, or any other “fix-it” person! He can repair virtually anything, which at times presents a challenge; yet that motivates him even more to figure it out! It’s pretty amazing! He is an engineering manager at a water heater company, and I’ve been told he’s an awesome “boss’! Rodney is very artistically inclined, and can draw anything you ask in~ in 2-D, 3-D, on a CAD System, by hand, in exact perspective, with no pattern or plans to follow! As an artist myself, that amazes me! In fact, suffice it say I’m particularly envious of that gift! Oooopppppssss---can I say “envy” as a Christian and not be sinning? Oh, well, it won’t be the first time, and likely not the last….praise the Lord He loves me anyway. Have I mentioned that my husband is very good looking? Well, see for yourself! One of the first things I noticed about him when I met him on a blind date at his brothers house was…..are you ready for this?.......hope no one is offended by this……still ready?......OK, OK, OK…..be patient…..ssshhh….don’t tell him because he would be embarrassed I blogged about it…..promise you won’t tell?......OK,…….his cute butt! THERE! I said it! Now the whole world knows! Well, just sayin’……at least I’m being honest!



So, having prefaced the real thought behind today’s Wednesday’s Walk down Memory Lane with a thorough introduction of my husband, let me continue…

When I met Rodney he was enjoyed spelunking! He was enamored with caves! Growing up in Lynchburg, TN., (yes, home of Jack Daniels Distillery, where he was working when I met him—I was a school teacher at the Elementary school there, and his sister-in-law introduced us), he had caves all around to explore. He knew some of them like the back of his hand. One weekend, while I was staying with at his brother and sister-in-law’s house, Rodney asked me to go “caving” with him. That was not alluring to me in any way, shape, form or fashion! I did NOT want to go! But he pleaded with me, so I agreed. However, I had no appropriate spelunking attire! “Not to worry”, he said, “you can wear a pair of my coveralls! And your tennis shoes should do!” Don’t you know I made a fashion statement !



We arrived at the cave entrance and I was petrified! I asked him if anyone else would be in there; he assured me it would only be us. He led the way in, and I gripped his hand with all my strength. The ground was like slick clay, so much of the time I was in a most unnatural quasi-split pose! He was especially patient while I regrouped; then we continued on. It was dark; it smelled musty; it was cold (56 degrees year round); the only light we had came from the helmets on our heads. You should have seen me! Oh my goodness! Femininity would not be a word that described me that day! Can you say “homely”?



I asked repeatedly, “Are you sure we are the only ones in here?” He promised we were! We finally made it to a huge rock where we could sit down and “rest a spell”! Trust me, I needed rest! (and Valium!) What I really wanted was OUT OF THERE! We sat there, shining our lights on the graffiti written on the cave walls, and Rodney said, “Uh, Lisa, remember when I told you we were the only ones in here?” “Yep”, I said, “did you lie to me?” “Well I didn’t really lie”, he said, “but there are a few bats above us!” I almost wet my britches! SERIOUSLY! I said, “Get me out of here, right this minute!” He tried his best to calm me down with his sweet talkin’, calm spirit….I demanded we leave! I felt like I had done my duty and gone in a cave with him; I assured him it would never happen again! Just before we left he said, “Can I ask you a question first?” “Hurry up”, I said. “This is not funny, Rodney!” He said, “You don’t have to answer me now, but would you marry me?!” The audacity, I thought! He tricked me just so he could propose in this dark hole! My response: “Get me out of here and I’ll do anything!” It wasn’t until he safely got me back out of that cave that I gave him my “final answer’ of yes! When my mother saw the photos of us before entering the cave and after exiting the cave, she said, “Honey, if he proposed to you looking like that, he must really love you!” A word of advice: IF you ever go into a cave, pretend you are under anesthesia, and follow the same post-op instructions: don’t make any major decisions and don’t sign any documents!



And the rest, as they say, is history!

Although we’ve had our ups and downs, highs and lows, good times and bad times, we have managed to hang in there one day at a time. Some days are just plain hard! Others seem much easier! I thank God for 29-years and pray there will be many more!



Oh, and one more thing~ below are a couple of photos of his mid-life creativity! He built it out of an old pick up truck chassy and (2) Triumph GT6 bodies. He cut the truck off the chassy, he took the Triumps apart and used pieces from each, put it together, complete with a roll-bar inside, painted it his favorite color of green, and calls it "The Green Machine". Gets about 5 MPG; has people pull him over on the road when he test drives it because they are so curious! I'm afraid he may cause someone to have an accident!












~ I'm grateful for a husband who loves me even when I’m unlovable…and doesn’t give up on me!