Today my nana (Sandra) gave me a call to see how i was doing. We started talking about relationships, and for the first time in my life, i asked her about her's and my papa's (Lynn) : how it started, etc.
Firstly, let me start off by saying that that their marriage and relationship has always amazed me. The world doesn't have many successful and good-example marriages these days, and theirs is one of the only ones i have to look at for an example. So, it was a story that was long past due for telling.
Sandra and Lynn started dating when they were in high school. Lynn was just one year older than Sandra. He was not a member and was apparently a part of the "in-crowd" (this was the 50's, so i imagine the most stereo-typical greaser. you would agree if you saw old pictures of him. he was a looker!) and partied every weekend. Sandra was about 17 when her mother got re-married and moved away (my grandparents were already dating at this point) and she moved with her about an hour away. She said that her and Lynn would switch off visiting each other every single weekend. Talk about dedication! Sandra hated her new high school, and made a really big decision to leave home (her junior year of high school), and at that point never go back. She went back to the town where Lynn was. He had also moved out of his home due to a bad family situation and was living at a friend's.
Sandra lived moved to two different friend's houses (neither working out) and even ended up in a transition state at the place where Lynn was staying! Talk about an inappropriate dating situation.(; Anyways, she ended up settling in at a boarding house for $40 a month, which is completely incomprehensible to me. so there she was. Almost a senior in high school, living on her own. What an incredible woman.
At this point, Lynn was about to go to boot camp for 6 months, and Sandra gave him an ultimatum.
"I want a ring on my finger, or I am going to date around while you're gone."
"Well, you have one already"
Lynn was talking about his class ring, but Sandra wanted more. That just wasn't good enough for her. For some reason he couldn't commit, so off he went to boot camp.
My Nana stopped the story at this point and said, "...we don't talk about this next part. Not many people know about this next part because we don't like telling it."
Then she laughed, so I translated that into, "Lynn doesn't like people to know about this."
Anyways, Sandra said that she had the time of her life while he was gone' she had never had more fun. She dated everyone, something she had never done before. The six months, came and went towards the end of her senior year. It was the night before Lynn was supposed to come back from boot camp so she decided to have "one last fling" with one of the boys she had been dating that year. They spent the evening about half an hour away in Boise, Idaho. She said that they ended up "necking" (oh, old people...(: ...) around 4 AM in a car in some back alley, when the driver door was yanked open and her date was thrown out of the car. It was Lynn! He had come back a day early to surprise Sandra, had spent the whole evening waiting on her doorstep, then spent hours talking to her friends trying to find out where she was.
After he pulled that poor guy out of his own car, just-back-from-boot-camp-250-lbs-of-pure-muscle-Lynn started pounding on him, while Sandra was still in the car, crying an begging him to stop. ....My Nana did not really say what happened to this guy, so I do hope that he is alright.
Sandra and Lynn headed off to the dam, one of their favourite frequents. It was then when she said that by the time the sun came up, they were engaged to be married. He realized how much she meant to him and realized that he would rather have her, then his "freedom" of being a single man.
The story continues (and still is) with an amazing conversion story.
The main moral of the story, is that if it's supposed to happen, it will. It might take some time, some growing up, a lot of sacrifice, but it can always happen if two people love each other and want a life together badly enough.
...and that i really just want someone to love me enough to feel like they need to beat up a guy that is trying to make the moves on me. :P
I think it's also really important to remember that maybe it WON'T happen. Thinking that way still is an optimistic outcome for me, because if it doesn't work out one way, it will work out a different way with someone else that will make you happier than you previously thought was possible.
Anyways....I'm just really grateful for my grandparents and the example they have been able set for me. Because of them, I know what love looks like, and what I should set my standard for it at.♥
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| All these years later, and he still looks at her like this. |
Yes, I have the most amazing parents who set a good example for all of us.
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