Forty-Four Years and Counting!

 Time certainly does fly by!  It's hard for us to believe, but today is our 44th wedding anniversary.  The best part of that fact is that we still love and truly like each other... 

I was living in the St. Louis Missouri area.  Debbie, my former Administrative Assistant, with a retail company long departed, fixed Laurie and I up on a blind date.  The two gals were residents in the same apartment complex...and after Debbie applied enough pressure and  assured Laurie that I was harmless, Laurie agreed to go out with me.  That blind date took place exactly 45 years ago today...and despite me being an 'old guy', we hit it off right away.  This photo was taken on Valentine's Day in 1979...

I'd proposed to Laurie while 'we' were doing laundry in her apartment complex's laundry facilities.  I am such a romantic aren't I?!  In any case, she accepted and exactly one year after our blind date, we tied the knot.

Like most couples that have been married for a long time, we've had our share of ups and downs...but a lot more ups than downs!  In 1981, we moved to Chicago, then to Attleboro Massachusetts, then back to Chicago, all necessitated by my career.  I worked for 5 different companies over the ensuing 30 + years before we retired in 2009.  Along the way, we had some great vacations.  Notably, Nova Scotia, British Columbia, some amazing fishing trips to northern Ontario, and road trips in Scotland, Australia and New Zealand.  We've explored or at least touched on all 50 states in the USA.

Since we've retired and moved to Eastern Tennessee...with its forests, lakes, rivers, rocks and mountains...life has continued to treat us well.  Road trips are our favorite activity for sure and we continue to explore the USA.  Of course, our most frequent destinations are St. Louis to visit Laurie's sisters and other family members and then Omaha to visit our son and his family.  

We have ventured overseas again as well... The photo above was taken along Loch Leven in Ballachulish Scotland.  On this occasion we were accompanied by Laurie's sister Bonnie and Bonnie's husband, Bill.  The trip had begun with a visit to the sister's family who live in Scotland...  

From Scotland we flew over to Ireland... This happy couple was enjoying the great weather and the fabulous little town of Kinsale on the southern coast of Ireland. (It's referred to as the Irish Riviera) Another great trip enjoyed by all...and we all have Irish ancestral roots too.

Like the rest of the world, we had to navigate and survive that notorious plague that limited movement for the last couple of years...Covid-19.  It really slowed us down, robbing us of a few great road trips.  The good news is that when we caught it ourselves, we were super vaccinated and didn't suffer any serious issues.  I still think that we looked stylish in our lovely masks.  We were glad to put them away!

...and time marches on!  We're ready for whatever adventures life brings our way.  This pair of lovers is looking forward to our 50th anniversary and beyond.  In the meantime, we're ready to hit the road, visit friends and family and explore the back roads of America. 

It's been a great trip so far!

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, David and Laurie