Mews from Meowmix

Just gotta tell you about Christine tonight.

Christine married when she was young and had a family.  Four daughters (one set of twins) survived, but unfortunately she and her husband lost the first little girl.  I don’t know how long she and husband were married, but it was a long time.  A lifetime, so to speak.  He passed away a lot of years ago, leaving her a widow at, I think, somewhere in the mid to late 40’s.

And as such she remained for a long, long time.  Then one day we started hearing this man’s name pretty often.  Seems this little guy in her church had lost his wife to cancer, and he’d been “alone” for a while.  He started sitting with Christine at church; she baked him some homemade bread; they went out to eat.  Before long, she was bringing him with her when she came to our house for Sunday dinners.  It was clear, right off the bat, that she was head over heels, and he reciprocated the feelings.  We had their wedding in our den, with 60+ people in attendance (his grown kids/grandkids and her grown kids/grandkids, as well as numerous other family and friends).  I, along with a group of friends, sang for the wedding.  She was 64, and he was 88, if I’m remembering correctly.

After his health failed, and he was in a nursing home, she was attendant to his every need.  She, herself, had been diagnosed with cancer after they married, but once she recovered, she was at that nursing home every single day.  He would sing “You Are My Sunshine” to her.

I don’t remember how many years they were married, but it was a few years, because he was well into his 90s when he died.

Since that time, she has continued with her life just like she always has, doing what needs to be done, enjoying her life as best she can, as her age advanced and health issues have persisted.  (She had another bout with cancer and recovered from that one, too.)  She sold property she and her first husband had and bought another house, a new one.  No, she didn’t want a condo, town house, or apartment.  She wanted a house house!  And that’s what she got!  A big one and, as time and money permitted, decorated it beautifully.

She and husband #1 had friends, a couple she spoke of now and again.  This couple lived out of state, in Alabama, I believe.  A year or so ago, she called to tell us her friend had died, leaving her husband a widower.

Before long, Widower was making phone calls to Christine.  Before long, he was coming to see her.  Before long, she was driving by herself to Alabama to visit him.  (And she had been terrified of driving on the interstate, or alone anywhere!)

You can guess where this is going.  She has let us know this week that he has proposed marriage, and she has accepted.  They haven’t set a date, but I believe the wedding is imminent.  He has a house and family in Alabama; she has a house and family in North Mississippi.  They plan to live one place for a while and then swap up.

She is 79, will be 80 in July.  He is 83, I believe, or somewhere in that neighborhood.

She’s happy as a lark, and I’m happy for her.  She inspires me!  Those things in life that are ageless?  Love.  Optimism.  Hope.  Fun.  These things do not have a face of age, and they spring eternal.  And I am encouraged!

TODAY’S SMILES:

1. Playing Pathwords on Facebook with Hailey.
2. Walking to church tonight.  Very pleasant.  Birds singing.  Mild breezes.
3. The man with the cowboy hat walking across the parking lot at church.
4. Danny’s rendition of “Get Ready” on American Idol.  (I don’t care what Simon says!)
5. Forwarding a blue Memphis Tigers wave via e-mail to a bunch of people!  (Keeping my fingers crossed for tomorrow night!)

See you tomorrow night.  God bless and keep you.