Category Archives: Selling a house and moving

Young Love (#57)

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My life in Chicago was easy compared to what Nate was experiencing in the Army. He was suffering through some hard days (and nights) of living in the field, stripped of every comfort. He was exhausted, dirty, hungry, and longing for his fiancée. Meanwhile, I was happily shopping for a wedding gown and helping my parents sort through mountains of creature comforts they no longer needed. It was the story of two extremes.

a-shinerJuly 12, 1969 – Dearest Meg. Thanks for the sweetest card I’ve ever seen! That picture of Meg with a trace of a shiner is so cute! I could hug, kiss, and squeeze you for a week! Down here I am really tired. We’ve been up every morning between 4:00 and 5:00 and been kept busy till midnight or 1:00 AM every night. Today we ran a reconnaissance patrol – 27 men, 27 rifles and a radio, etc. We walked about 15 miles in the heat, and my underwear and clothes were soaked! I’ve had to wear the same clothes for 5 days. No showers. This is rough, but it makes a person appreciate civilian life. Every man owes this to the U.S. When I think of what some men have sacrificed, my little suffering is microscopic.

July 12, 1969 – Dear Nate. My life is so different here than yours at Ft. Riley. I’ve been helping Mom and Dad sort through a lifetime of belongings. You’re operating with nothing, and they have too much. But… there’s an up-side. Since they have to get rid of so much, let’s think seriously about taking some of it. Dad’s father made some really nice glass-front book cases back in the late 1800’s. (Remember, Dad was born in 1899!) Those might be nice for all your law books.

July 12, 1969 – Dearest Meg. Thank you for your last fabulous letter! I could hug and kiss you forever! My love grows daily, and I am so excited about our engagement. You are the most fabulous woman in the world! I love you! And I also say, just wait until November 29! Love and kisses! I think of you every minute – every minute!!! I think about things you’ve said and done and your and my prayers, and your body. I realize again how magnificent you are and how fortunate I am. I’ll love you forever!

gownsJuly 13, 1969 – Dear Nate, my Loved One. I just returned from shopping for a wedding gown! But before I tell you about it, I want to thank you for all your letters filled with so many words of love. I appreciate every penned word. And I love you very much! Getting ready for our wedding is the most fun I’ve ever had, for lots of reasons. Nov. 29 can’t come fast enough for me! Today I tried on all kinds of gowns and about drooled over their beauty. I’m not ready to decide, because I want to look some more, and of course I have to run the prices past Dad. But I did decide a few things. I want an off-white dress made of heavy satin. It’s a very rich-looking fabric. I don’t mean in money but in thickness and quality, you know, sort of like a “rich” pastry. I’ve also decided on a high collar with lace of some kind. I hope to get a long train that will drag 3-4 feet behind the dress, and a floor-length veil. I’m going to pitch in for the extra costs of some of this. Dad will probably say I can’t, but I’m going to try. And I don’t want a veil over my face, because when I walk down the aisle, I don’t want anything obstructing my view!

“In the day of prosperity, be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other.” (Ecclesiastes 7:14)

Young Love (#56)

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While Nate was excelling as an Army cadet in Kansas, I was immersing myself in the mechanics of planning a wedding. Mom and Dad were making preparations to move from a large home to one half its size, wondering what to do with a lifetime of accumulated “stuff.” It seemed like big changes were bearing down on all of us.

July 11, 1969 – Dear Nate, my Love. I spent this whole day in the stores, mostly looking at silver, china, and crystal, drawing sketches so I will remember names, and writing down descriptions and prices. I’m trying to narrow it down before mailing you my suggestions. It’s so much fun! But I desperately need you with me when we actually register at Fields and Carsons. We can do it in August. I’ve also been looking at sample wedding invitations. I think it would be nice to go formal with raised script on ivory colored paper. And I’m glad Dad is going to pay for them!

wedding-check-listJuly 11, 1969 – Dearest Meg. I love you for your loyalty, faith, happiness, beauty, and intelligence. You are the perfect life partner for me. A lot of the guys here ask when I’m getting married. When I say “29 November,” I feel the warmth of your kisses, even though we’re hundreds of miles apart. I’m enclosing a list of things we’ve talked about, so we can make decisions together after my graduation.

 

 

articleJuly 11, 1969 – Dear Nate. President Nixon is talking about bringing the troops home from Viet Nam and ending the war (article enclosed). That makes me so happy, because then there will be NO chance you’ll have to go over there. I’m lying in the sun today, trying to get a tan, and the pen is slipping out of my hand because of all the suntan cream I’ve used. But I am a happy girl, so lucky to be in love with you. Zapo!

July 12, 1969 – Dearest Meg. The pace is picking up here. In two days we’ll practice small unit tactics until midnight. I’m a squad leader. There are 4 squad leaders in a platoon and each has charge of 11 men. Friday we’re staying up all night and going back to the barracks on Saturday at 8:00 PM. I’m writing you in my pup tent. I love you, future wife.

July 12, 1969 – Dear Nate. My friend Connie has been educating me about the “rhythm” method of birth control. She says I must have a 6 month chart with all the pertinent details written down. There’s only a little more than 4 months before we’re married, so I’d better start my chart. I’m not very confident about all this, but “the pill” everybody is talking about may not be the right thing for us, either. It wouldn’t be good to get p.g. right away, though, because I just want to be with you first, just the two of us, for a nice long time. I should find out what’s proper for a marriage medical exam with a doctor. Maybe I could get some advice at an appointment.

July 12, 1969 – Dearest Meg. I’m looking forward to our time together at camp. But first I want to talk to both of your parents, with and without you present. I really love and respect your parents and want them to be able to ask me any questions they want. I know I can be as honest with Meg’s folks as I can be with her, though perhaps with different vocabulary.

wedding-veilJuly 12, 1969 – Dear Nate. I’m so excited about trying on wedding gowns! And I want a floor-length veil, too, although it will cost more money. Dad and I are going to have to sit down and talk about expenses. I want to know what I’m allowed to spend.

“Your adornment must not be merely external… let it be the hidden person of the heart… which is precious in the sight of God.” (1 Peter 3:3-4)

Illuminating Gifts

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We own a spectacular flashlight that came to us in an unusual way. It’s made of aerospace-grade materials and is impact and water-resistant. Should it be dropped, it has a spongy, rubberized sheath around the vulnerable bulb-end, and it’s a foot long. The words “Coleman Graphite” are printed along the side.

Super-flashlight

If I was forced to look at the powerful bulb, my eyes would hurt for days, but the generous swath of light it puts forth is almost like a car’s headlights on high beam. I’ve checked online, and an equivalent flashlight would cost about $50, a far cry from the dime-store variety of our other flashlights.

Back in 2005, when Nate and I put our suburban home on the market after living there nearly 30 years, we never dreamed it would take 4 years to sell it, especially since the real estate market was still on a rapidly-rising bubble.

When we finally got the offer that “stuck,” our potential buyers asked for an asbestos inspection, and wouldn’t you know, the attic insulation contained microscopic bits of it. The buyers insisted we have it cleaned out, and after the 3-day process I climbed a ladder to peek at how the attic looked. Without insulation (and with a new white sealant on walls and floor joists), it looked pretty good.

As I stood on the ladder half-in and half-out of the attic, I noticed a big flashlight across the room. Climbing through the opening and crawling over the joists to retrieve it, I saw what good quality it was and figured it belonged to the asbestos team. Later I called them.

“No,” they said, “it isn’t ours.” I pressed the point, so one of the workers came by to look at it, but he was sure it wasn’t theirs. After that we asked people who came and went, but when we finally moved, we figured it was ours.

Coming into a high-quality flashlight isn’t any big deal, but the unexplainable way it came to us can be an object lesson for the way God does things. For example, maybe we need something specific or even just have a wish for it. We tell God about it in prayer, and one day, after we’ve forgotten we asked, there it is.

When God gives us the desire of our hearts (an un-sinful desire), he often brings it by a circuitous, improbable route. Why? Because he wants us to recognize that it’s him. If the way the gift arrived makes no logical sense and occurs against the odds, then I think we can rightly credit the Lord.

So, when I use our Coleman flashlight, it’s not the asbestos company that comes to mind. It’s God, and his sometimes unusual, often unexpected, but always welcome gifts.

“If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us.” (2 Corinthians 4:7)