Dear Mom and Dad,
It’s hard to believe that this picture of us having dinner
with you on the occasion of your 25th wedding anniversary was taken
25 years ago. Tim and I were both
single at the time, but Yvonne was with us that night and 2 years after this
picture was taken, we would begin our own journey together as Man and
Wife. Two years from now, God
willing, Yvonne and I will be celebrating our 25th anniversary with
our two sons. Maybe we’ll go to
the same restaurant? The
Tam-O-Shanter is about a 5- minute drive from where we live. Since Gabriel will be 11 and Michael
will be 10, we won’t have to worry about much of a bar tab that night.
The stories of our marriages have a common beginnings that
both relied on chance encounters, or God’s plan if you will. You both left the smaller Midwestern towns
that you grew up in to move to the big city of Chicago, where you happened to
live in the same apartment building.
Yvonne and I didn’t grow up in small Midwestern towns but we “happened”
to meet by chance or by plan after I was coming home from a job interview in
Santa Maria, CA. The man I interviewed
with told me about a TV station in Santa Barbara so I stopped there to drop off
my resume and fill out an application.
The beautiful girl who was filling in at the front reception desk was
Yvonne who was working as an assistant to the Production Manager. She passed along my information to her
boss and by the time I arrived home, I had a call from the station asking to
schedule an interview. In each situation you think about any slight variance
where our meetings may never have happened…but they did and they continue to be
gifts to give thanks for everyday.
I give thanks that I have you as my parents. You have been great role models as
parents, a married couple and just good people. Everyone hopes that when they get married that it will be a
partnership for life. I felt
confident when I got married that that would be the case because I had a great
example to follow. But as we all
know, it’s not that easy. Just
because you had the good fortune of meeting your perfect match doesn’t mean
that your future will forever travelled on a bed of roses. Your path took many turns: Chicago,
Peoria, South Bend, Fridley, Cranbury, Mississauga, Middletown, Westlake
Village and now Lincoln. Up-rooting
family and friends for a career is tough, but you made it look easy and
somewhere in there lies the keys to your success. The ability to grow and change, to be flexible, to take on
challenges as a team, to have a sense of adventure and most importantly to have
a sense of humor.
This blog that Tim and I created for your 50th
anniversary has been a fun project. I know that many of your family and friends wish that they could join you on this special day, but they are here with you in spirit. I'm just glad that Yvonne, the boys and I will be here with you in person.
We love you and wish you many more years of happiness together!
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