Courtship

Time to get back to Mother and Daddy.

Last post I did on them was to share a little about Mother's early days.

We already know they got married on March 14, 1926 - my father's 21st birthday. What I don't know - and I wish I did - is when they met. I don't know if they'd been going together for a long time, or if they had a whirlwind romance. You'd think I'd have asked Mother about that. But I know from pictures that they sure did have a lot of fun.

Daddy had a motorcycle. And Mother had a poodle dog named Patsy. And I imagine Daddy was quite the daredevil. Patsy would ride on the motor and lean in the curves. And Mother would sit behind Daddy with both arms wrapped tightly around him. They made quite the beautiful couple.

Mother had long brunette hair when they met. But everyone knows that flapper girls wore their hair in a short bob. So when Mother began wearing those cute little outfits, she decided to get her hair cut in a bob. Daddy about came unglued.

And he laid down the law. "You cut your hair, and we're through." he told her. Never one to be told what she could or couldn't do, Mother had her hair cut the very next day. When he saw it, he didn't say a word. But he later admitted to her that he just wanted to see if she'd "obey" him . . . and he had no intention of leaving her. Since I didn't come along for many years, I have no way of knowing . . but I think they had a very special relationship.

I have pictures of them going on picnics in the park. Usually with their best friends, Mary and Russ. Mary had been Mother's friend for a long time. Daddy and Russ became friends when Russ and Mary started dating. I can remember as a small child going on vacations with Mary and Russ and their children. That memory just emerged. Hadn't thought about those days for a long time.

Well, it's past my bedtime.

If you find all this stuff about my parents less than riveting - I'm sorry. It's really quite therapeutic for me. You see, my mother died 42 year ago tomorrow. And not a day has passed that I haven't missed her.

I'm very much looking forward to seeing her again in Heaven.

Hope to see you there, too.