Its a good life

My husband is irritated at me. I'm not sure why, probably some offhand comment I made and then forgot about immediately. I have a bad habit of that.

Anyway, I was pondering the reason why and then thinking about our life together in general. We've gone through some hard times and conversely - just as many great times.

I met Bruce when I was 16 years old. We both worked at the same little hamburger joint. He was a cook and I was a waitress. He was in his first year of Junior college and I was still in high school. I think my mother thought that working would teach me some lessons about the reality of life since I had never really done much of anything before that...coasted through school...hung out with friends...the usual teenage stuff.

Anyway, I noticed the guy in the kitchen. He was very quiet and shy, but seemed to have a lot on the ball since he was going to college. One thing lead to another and we were married the next year while I was still a senior in high school. Immediately upon my graduation, I became pregnant with our first child, Steven Andrew.

Bruce went to school when he could and worked to support us. It was during the Viet Nam era and he lost his student deferment. He was going to be drafted into the Army, so he decided to join the Air Force, thinking he would have a little better chance of getting the schooling he wanted and hopefully, staying out of Viet Nam. When Steven was 2 months old this little 19 year old girl saw her husband off for basic training. I lived with my parents with the idea that it was just temporary and I would join Bruce as soon as he finished basic training. That wasn't to be. The Air Force quickly realized how brilliant he was and schooled him in the Intelligence field working with the elite. He had just one month at home after schooling before he was shipped off to Korea for a year. We left for Georgia after that year thinking we would be there for the duration of his enlistment, but after just a few months he was shipped off to Guam for another tour. I could list all our comings and goings after that, but it would be very long. He managed to get an early release and we moved to San Luis Obispo, California so he could attend school on the G.I. bill. In looking back I'm not sure exactly how we managed on the small amount he received each month, but we did. Our daughter Amy Catherine joined us during these years so my time was spent caring for the children and home while he studied. He routinely carried over 20 credits of classes and made the dean's list each term.

When he graduated he accepted a position with the Federal Highway Administration in the bridge section. We lived in Nevada, Kansas, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa and finally in Oregon where he retired after a great career with the Federal Government. He retired from the feds on Friday, and went to work for the State of Oregon on Monday. During our time in Iowa, we added 2 more children to our family - Kevin Matthew and Kerry Elizabeth.

Bruce continued with school even after he started his career and managed to get his masters degree as well as take care of his family and work full time. He has always had a work ethic that is admirable to say the least. Just like his father before him, he rarely spends time just being idle. He has accomplished much. He is very well respected in his field and sits on several boards and committees in addition to his 'regular' job. His job(s) have given him opportunity for travel that very few people are privileged to do. It's safe to say he is internationally respected in his field.

He has given me a good life. I've been able to stay home and raise our children and then when I chose to - work outside the home. I've been able to travel to places I never dreamed of when I was a little girl. I always thought I'd live next door to my parents and family forever.

I've written long enough for now, but as with all my posts thus far, I've only scratched the surface....