Moments with MarLo

I was 17 and had my entire life before me when we first met.  It truly was love at first sight even though it took me a few months to realize it.  But not you.  You loved me from the very beginning.  I was 19 when we committed to love and honor and cherish til death do us part.  Whatever portion of my heart you didn’t already own was captured that day as you stood, strikingly gorgeous, waiting for me to come down the aisle to you.  So much has happened in the twenty-four years since then.  We’ve had our share of really good and terribly lousy seasons.  I’ve disappointed you at least as often as I have delighted you.  And I have held the distinct pleasure of partnering with you as we watched your son grow into an amazing young man with a wife of his own, and our daughter begin to blossom as a young girl.  Best of all, I have been wonderfully loved by you all of these years.  May you in turn know how much I love you my d...

Most days I'm doing well. Very well in fact. Then there are moments where I would give practically everything to see Michael, Right. This. Minute!  I get overwhelmed from something as simple as a text message like the one he sent last  week , "I got a 100 on my test!"   I was so excited for him because he had studied hard and earned the grade he received.  And in that moment I wanted to celebrate with him. I wanted to hug him and be held by him. I longed to eat a meal with him. To sit quietly and enjoy his presence.  That's when the tears slide down my face and the ache in my heart deepens a little more as I ponder the 1,000 miles between us. I remember the very first time we were separated.  I was 18 and living an hour's drive away from Michael. I could barely eat on the days I didn't see him. I had trouble concentrating in school. I hated being apart from him.  Eventually I gave up and quit school to be with him.  ...