Joy and sadness

It was 49 years ago that Marge and I met at the altar of a little church in Hyannis, Nebraska, and said our "I do's." It doesn't seem like it's been that long, but it has. There have been a lot of ups and downs, some high spots and some low ones, some great joys and some great sorrows.

It was about two years after our "I do's" that our first son came along. What a joy! I was there when Vic came into this world and let out his first cries of surprise and shock and protest. As proud parents we took him home and showed him off to everyone. We kind of had an idea how to raise a new baby, but a lot of it we learned on the fly. It was fun mostly. I didn't like cloth diapers and getting up all hours of the night. But it was awesome being parents.

Our son wasn't all that old when we went over to my parents and visited one evening, which was about 25 miles, but that's not far in the Sandhills of Nebraska. Vic sat right in the middle of the dining room table that evening with Marge and Mom and Dad and me around him. I don't remember, but I'm guessing he showed off to them. We had a blast.

I believe it was the next day or two I was fencing down east of where we were working, when Marge drove up in the car, and she was upset. My brother had called and said that Dad had a heart attack, and he thought Dad was dead. We headed to Arthur, where we met the ambulance and was told that Dad had indeed passed away. We went from a world full of joy where we had the world by the tail to a world of sorrow and anguish. I'd lost classmates and cousins and grandparents and friends, but losing Dad was special. He was a rock to lean on and count on when things got rough. The family came together and made the arrangements and laid Dad to rest in Arthur.

But this is life. All of us have lost loved ones and friends. Death is something that will touch all of us sooner or later. It was a couple years later that along came our second son. We lived about 35 miles from the doctor, so when Marge said we better head toward town, we headed out. With Vic it seemed like it took forever, so I asked her if we had time to get me a butter scotch malt? She instead said we might want to go straight to the hospital. The doctor rode upstairs with us on the elevator because his concern was that Tait might be born on the way up. He wasn't, but it was close. What a joy becoming parents a second time!

Down through the years there have been more great joys and some sorrows along the way, but all in all it has been a great life. If we focus on the downers in life and never rise to look at the uppers or blessings, we will think life is the pits. There will be days when we get up in the morning and we'll have to tell ourselves this will be a good day. Maybe sip by sip of that morning coffee you can convince yourself the day has promise.

Life is, in my opinion, what we make of it. Too often we think that life just happens. More often life is when we take the bull by the horns and go for it. This doesn't have to be earth-shaking world changing things, but can be as simple as getting up in the morning, showering and wearing nice clothes rather than ragged everyday duds. I feel better when I get up and shower and shave and wear a decent pair of bibs even to work in. It might be as simple as a road trip to Holcomb, Missouri, to eat at Strawberries or a drive to Sikeston, Missouri, for a cup of Parengo pour-over coffee.