4/7/2017
Today, the man in my life is turning 68. He's a man, so it's okay to freely discuss how young/old he is! (Smiley face here). Not only has Jeff been in my life since 1974, but he is my best friend. Jeff always has my back, or let me down. While 2013, was a particularly bad year for us, Jeff has stayed by my side, as I try/tried to get my life back on track. And, for this, I will always be grateful. I can't erase the pain of 2013, or my continued depression, but I strive to be/do better.
Jeff came into my life unexpectedly thanks to Dad and Jeff's sister. A blind date on May 5th, 1974, started down the road of life together for 42 years this September. And what a ride we've had.
From the beginning, Jeff was an amazing man. The first grocery shopping trip together was a real eye opener. I had next to no money, so was carefully going through the store trying to buy food that was a bit past it's prime. Jeff, on the other hand, was filling up his grocery cart, with what looked to me at the time, reckless abandonment. When it was time to check out, I put my cart in the aisle first, with it's skimpy bare necessities only. So I was completely taken aback, when Jeff told the clerk that the two carts were together! I hadn't seen so much food in my kitchen since I left home in 1968!
I had a dress on layaway (remember doing that?) and my Mom told Jeff about the dress and before I knew it, it was hanging in my closet. Before we moved into my parents' rental house, Jeff bought a washer and dryer. Again, this was something that I had not had in my previous "life". By then, he was an absolute hero in my book.
As time has progressed, we moved through weeks, months and years. We bought our first house, all 1200 feet of it! We were sure that our mortgage payment of $200 and something, was going to be a stretch for us. We never ever expected that someday we'd have a mortgage payment that had a comma in the number! We were jubilant with the births of Scott and Andy. Jeff was over the moon when he was hired by IBM. It had been a dream of his for years. When Jeff was transferred to Maryland, it felt like we were pioneers, traipsing across the country in our own type of "wagon", a plane.
Over the course of what seems a lifetime, we have traveled to Hawaii twice, the Bahamas twice, took road trips to Arizona, New Mexico, San Francisco, Yosemite and Las Vegas. Summer vacations took us to Maine (LL Bean) and Ben and Jerry's factory, which was yummy I might add. We have also flown to Duluth and Florida. For a number of years, our vacations with the boys, was two weeks at the Outer Banks. We were probably the only family on the beach, who came fully stocked with laptops, cables and other computer stuff! But, then again, computers is what Jeff and the boys do.
We bought the plane new I think in 2009. As the original owner, you get to decide what you're tail number is going to be. Our tail number is N874T. The N stands for North America and the 874 is the day our wedding, sort of. We were married in September, but Jeff didn't want to have to say "niner" every time he was taking to traffic controllers - hence the number 874. The plane's home is in a nearby time, and after years of being on a wait list, now sits in a hangar. Unfortunately, last year Jeff failed his FAA medical exam due to some heart issues, that he didn't know he had. Our mission this year, is to pass the exam and the holdup is a required stress test, to get him back up in the air. When Jeff is flying, I know he's at peace. The only thing that really matters, is for Jeff to be a good pilot, which he definitely is. I have no fear of flying in the plane and generally fall asleep to the plane's hum. The advantage of owning a plane, beside the obvious, is no screening by TSA, no lost luggage and no time constraints. You fly on your own schedule, so you're never late.
Jeff worked at IBM for 30 plus years and had no thoughts of retiring, but in 2013, IBM wanted Jeff, along with other older employees (all of whom had the original pension plan), gone. And, with a swipe of a pen, Jeff's career, of which he was so proud, was over. He wasn't even remotely ready to stop working.
Jeff has been a good husband and father. And, like good wine, keeps getting better with age. Every year on our anniversary, we "re-up"! Jeff and I are like old, comfy slippers, a bit worn around the edges, but still holding together.
Last January, we bought a gently and almost new Mercedes convertible for Jeff. This was a great purchase. You put the top down, and let the wind blow your hair all around. Jeff has no hair on his head anymore, so he doesn't look a mess when we stop somewhere. We may the only two people on the planet that buy a convertible in the dead of winter, on the East coast, but it was a good deal and the car, white with a black top, looks sexy as hell. Sometimes, when Stacey, Benjamin and myself go out for an adventure, we swap cars with Jeff. Monday, is going to be one of those days. It's supposed to be warm, so it will definitely be a top down drive for us.
My latest "present" if you will, is a new Tivo. Now that may not sound like a great present to you, but for somebody who loves television, it's a wonderful purchase. And, I'll be able to record 6 shows at once, compared to only 4 tuners that I have now, and I'm very excited. So now in our den, I have the large flat television, our electric recliners, and the new Tivo. Life doesn't get much better than that.
I've been working on a novel called the "200 Year Separation" for several years. It's about a retired librarian, Wilma (basically me), who lives in Baltimore and a slave named Jonas, who escaped from the plantation and makes his way to Baltimore. I've promised Jeff, that if I ever make any money from Wilma, I'll buy a bigger and faster plane. Obviously, he wants me to keep writing!
Happy Birthday to my best friend. After the rough patch in 2013, we're optimistic about the years ahead, and know that there will be no challenges we can't overcome, as long as we're together.
Love P
Happy Birthday to Jeff. Hope it's a great one!
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