Sixteen years ago today my mom married my step-dad. My mom had been divorced for 4 years when her friends and daughters convinced her to place an ad in the Personals of the Hartford Court.
Tall, slender and attractive
divorced, white female, 51 y.o.
would like to meet a kind, warm,
intelligent man who believes in
laughter and love and the NY Giants.
She received over 30 responses. We would lie on her bed and howl with laughter as we read them. Some of those letters were from honest-to-god yahoos. But just as she was about to give up hope she received a short note from a man named Sam. It interested her enough that she met him for dinner.
And he wore red socks. And he made her laugh. And they fell in love.
They were married in the Elizabeth Park Rose garden. Sam's two young daughters from his first marriage and my sisters and I were all on hand to witness their love.
They are a wonderful couple. They like to take long, rambling drives together. Entertain and cook together. The can sit and read in silence together. They meet each other's needs, not always with patience, but with a deep and evident love for each other.
A word about Sam. He was born in Norway, an only child. He immigrated to the US in his early 20's. His first name is Odd. Really! He is the only person in our family who enjoys reading the same books as I do. Guns, Germs and Steel. Yup. 1492: The Year China Discovered America. Yup. Every single Patrick O'Brien book. Yup. Just to name a few. He can fix anthing. He loves Grand Prix auto racing. And my mom.
And he hates football. But he answered her ad anyway. Sam is my favorite grumpy old man. I am proud to call him my friend. I couldn't have asked for a better step-dad.
So, Happy Anniversary Mom and Sam. You give me hope that there is someone out there for me. When I lose faith, I don't have to look too far to have it restored.
11 comments:
That's sweet!
Happy Anniversary to them!
Happy Anniversary, Aunt Betty and Uncle Sam!
I remember being there for the wedding and everyone being nice enough to indulge a chunky, awkward 11-year-old by letting her get her hair done, too. I remember the hairdresser put a flower in it, too. Good times.
And all of you looked so beautiful that I was very excited that I was techically related to you all through Pickle...
Awesome! What a great story. :)
What a lovely story! (and well written post, of course!!!) :-)
Happy Anniversary to them!
I do believe that it is so instinctively in our nature to love that eventually we all find someone with whom to share our lives. My own mother has for the last year been dating the man of her dreams and it warms my heart to see her happy after all these years.
No wonder she fell in love with him, he's from Norway! Yay Odd Sam!
Nice tribute. Here's to wishing them a very Happy Anniversary :-)
Thank you, my dear, for the very lovely tribute. Sam says thanks, too luvs ya, Mom
Doesn't it always seems to come on the verge of giving up?
Thanks for such a neat post!
So nice!
Happy Anniversary to all!
This is the sweetest post. I hope they had a lovely anniversary.
(Paul loved Guns, Germs and Steel. Okay, now I'm gonna have to read it...)
That was so wonderful of you to write. Hard to believe it was 16 years ago. I can't imagine any one who could love or take care of my dad as well as your mom. They are the perfect imperfect couple. And to Meg - I too was impressed that they let a gawky, scrawny 12-year-old get her hair done with flowers. Funny what you remember...
From your next post (yeah, I'm behind) you sure can see that Honesty does pay, as in this case! Happy Anniversary.
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