40 Years to Get Together
by Wendy and Jim
Ours is a tale of 40 years. It took those 40 years, and all of the life experiences contained, to season us just right so that we have a fantastic fire and ember and romance relationship.
We first met in 1962. He was a senior at the high school we both attended in our suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. He transferred in from a city school when his family moved to the suburb adjacent to mine. As he tells it, he stuck out like a sore thumb and had his pick of many girls in his own senior class as well as the Junior and Sophomore class. Why? Because he was NEW, and because he was extremely good looking.
How did we meet? What did we do for dates? Beats the heck out of both of us. We remember dating each other, but no details. Well, let me correct that. I had access to my Mother’s car, a green & white Metropolitan….a cute little car with a black convertible top. We remember having a LOT of fun in that little car.
We probably broke up over the summer or early Fall of 1962 when he headed off to college, and I was ready for my senior year of high school.
Thus begins a 40-year separation during which we each found our own separate yellow brick roads to follow. His involved multiple college degrees, a tour of duty in the U. S. Air Force, two marriages, 3 children, and a successful medical practice in a small town.
Mine involved a single marriage, no children, living in 6 different states and as many cities, and ultimately retiring in Atlanta from a staff management job with corporate America.
One Friday evening, I was engaged at my computer as usual chatting with some friends I had made through a personals service. Out of the clear blue comes an email from Classmates.com from him. He gave me contact information to reach him through the internet. His office receptionist had suggested using the Classmates service when his daughter found my high school photos amongst other attic treasures he had kept all those years. Within less than an hour, we were using one of the Instant Messengers to talk faster than sending emails back and forth. By 11pm that night, he’d asked permission to call me and we spent a good hour on the phone talking and catching up.
By the next evening, he had convinced me to join him and his 15 year old daughter on a cruise. She was bringing a girlfriend with her. We all piled into one smallish stateroom in 4 bunk beds.
The trip was a total, wonderful blast. On the plane heading home, nestled with his head on my shoulder, he asked me to start thinking about where I would like to go for a honeymoon. We have been together now for the past 4.5 years…. and many more to come!!!
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