Our 20th Anniversary

Well, we made it. So far so good. So here's the thing. Wedding anniversaries make you think back on what got you together to begin with. Here are a few thoughts. I had been friends with lots of guys and not too many dates. In fact hardly any at all. Now I say, thanks be to God for that! I recall walking on campus one day, sort of disgruntled that I must be chop liver as my girl friends had boy friends and I just had friends who were boys. Some of these friends were quite odd and if they had expressed interest I think I would have run like the wind. I even remember one odd friend from the camp I worked at writing me a letter saying God had told him he was to marry me. I vividly remember this too and thinking, yikes, God hasn't said a word to me! So, while walking on campus I decided that I was writing off guys and gee God there must be something else in store for my life. Perhaps I was going to solve world hunger or become a famous horn player or something. The next week I met Charley. Clearly I wasn't up for the jobs of world hunger or symphony member. We both knew it was twitterpation for us. Of course we didn't mention to each other but in retrospect that was the way it was.

I remember dawdling to the last minute to catch a glimpse of that cute guy zipping by on his bicycle on the way to Gellerson Hall. I would even stand outside Niles which was pretty far away from where he was biking to see him zip by to another class. Isn't that cute?

We went out to eat ONCE before he and his buddy Eric biked home to PA and NY for the summer. It was to Around the Clock in Valpo. My memories of that were: Not believing he called, he wore a jean jacket, he did something odd that you would have to have us over for a drink to tell you (just something farmerish), he drank A LOT of water, and I didn't want the evening to end. The next day I went to the fraternity to say good-bye as they biked off on their journey.

We wrote letters back and forth all summer and once he called me at the camp I worked at. We should get those letters out and read them. They are sitting in the filing cabinet across from me.

My mom liked him and the first day she had him over for dinner, she whipped out her wedding pictures and told him her daughter was going to wear her wedding dress when she got married. Ahem......that was embaressing but she must have known what she was talking about. She must have been pretty smart too. She always told me pre-Charley, that I should marry a Lutheran, Engineer, fraternity boy. THe first two were the more important and I balked at her suggestions but.....that is what happened. See, these parents DO know something afterall. I think the only joke my dad ever pulled off well, was when Charley took him in the basement to ask him if he could marry his daughter and dad said no. HA! I was impressed he said it with a straight face. He quickly told him he couldn't think of a better choice.

I was attracted to Charley because of his charming looks, brains, sincerity, obvious adoration of ME (smirk, smirk) and he had THE best head on his shoulders of any boy I had ever met. He was innocent, sincere, hard working, respected, polite, and cute and loved by many of my friends as well. (this hasn't changed) Mary and Phil were tickled that we were seeing each other. Phil also biked home with Charley to NJ one summer and Mary was my good friend. Rob Franck was his roommate freshman year and a good friend of mine (not one of the dorky ones Rob).

So, not much has changed with Charley except I am the only one who called him Charley. He was Chuck to everyone else at school. Chuck......yuck. Charley - much better.


Happy 20th anniversary Charley!