25 years ago today

my wife and I tied the knot.
We first met soon upon my return from 'nam and I have to say she was smitten much more than me but at any rate we had a short fling, cut short by her chasing me and my being bug nuts from the war. I liked her, even felt love but I knew nothing would work as like I said I'm fresh home from war and dealing with that so we remain friends, seeing one another from time to time as friends, She marries and has a couple sons all the while we're running in the same crowd, We never cheated but we did remain friends. 20 some odd years later things starting happening where we finally get together, She recently divorced and me still crazy as ever but feeling a need to settle down and there's still that fire in both of us so we start seeing one another on a dating level and before I know it we're living together and I finally say the word but she was reluctant because of all those months early on of my shunning her but finally one morning she says today is the day. Off we go to a little wedding chapel and we get there right before noon and the lady there tells us that if we hurry over to the court house and get out blood drawn and buy a license we can have you two married by noon so off across the street we go hand in hand and get the required needle stick and papers and come back and thats that. It was a rough first couple years as we were getting to know each other, plus her two sons, (8 and 15 YO,) and I didn't exactly see eye to eye, they both were little heathens, older one pretty much set in his way, Steal me blind where his younger brother would lie when the truth would sound better but we worked it out and became a family. Today I have a grand Daughter of 8 by my youngest step Son and couldn't be happier. Oldest step Son spends more time in jail than out as he has sticky fingers and a drug problem. In treatment at the moment and says this is it but we've heard all this before so we're keeping our fingers crossed that this will be it. Hope is all we have left. Youngest Son was a star basket ball player in high school, holds the school record for points in a game at 45 and married our grand Daughters mother, since divorced, a person we, my wife and I simply adore. Good girl who did it all right when she was pregnant and who I can honestly say made me see the light concerning my drinking. She asked me about the time that our grand Daughter was born, if I'd try to keep the alcohol drinking away from her daughter. I was hurt that someone had to tell me that but that didn't last long as the thought of having a grand daughter was the best feeling I'd ever felt. So I gave up the bottle. Bought a bottle, put it up on a high shelf where my wife keeps some of her knick knacks so it would be in plain sight. Put it there just in case I got to the point where I had to have a drink. Rather than me having to drive to the liquor store to get a bottle cause I knew in my heart that if I did that I'd drink the whole bottle and I'd be back to square one. Some where along the way my wife threw the bottle out. I think she might have put it in the cabinet under the sink but I'm not sure all I know for sure is I realized one day my blinky wasn't there anymore and then I realized that I have this one whupped. I have this monkey off my back and oh what a feeling it was too, to finally realize that.
I remember telling my wife when we were seeing each other early on when we were first dating that I'm not ready to marry but when I am I want to marry her. Of course she doesn't remember that but neither here nor there here we are 25 years later. Me in here typing away and her still sound asleep. Loving life and I'm sure both of us feeling like we made a good choice all those years ago. I know I feel that way and am pretty sure she does too.
I probably won't be replying much as I've got chores to do, garden to worry with, pool to vacuum etc. while she sleeps in and later we'll got get our grand daughter to spend the day with us. Gramma and her will spend most of the day playing, picking black berries but mostly in the pool. At some point I'll join them and get wet too. Brooklyn can swim like a fish. A nice little person to be around and she's spoiled like you wouldn't believe but never a problem, never gets in trouble with us, us never having to say No, no back talking just a pleasant person to be around. As is her mother so is the child.
My hope is we all, my family here at DU and here at home, all have a wonderful day.
Peace

I could go on and on with this story, as I left out more than not but you know, sometimes a man just has to shut his yapper
As a Present to ourselves we're going to go see Stephen Stills, (We're old hippies btw,) Tuesday evening but today just enjoy our day like most Sundays with our Grand Daughter, just having fun living life as life for us was intended to be lived.
Stephen Stills concert is in a venue that was designed for plays, an orchestra, that kind of thing so the acoustics is awesome. The old Lady on Brady is what it's known as so it should be a good show.