WE HAD IT ALL

2009

WE HAD IT ALL

“We had it all.” Those words tell it.

There’s no way I can tell all of the things we had. There were so many. These are a few of them.

We had the pleasure of knowing each other and loving each other for most of our lives. We knew the thrill of loves beginning, as I watched that nice little girl turn into a beautiful woman.

We both had the luxury and security of knowing beyond question that each of us was the only one, that there was no competition, no temptation. That each of us completely owned the other, that each of us was the others only love.

We had the pleasure of watching our children grow and learn and become successful. And we have enjoyed a close family life with our children. I can remember so many times, even in recent months, when the present company was just the original four of us.

We had the fulfillment of being able to build a successful business from scratch, with no formal education and no beginning wealth.

The real world selected our courses and provided the school in which we learned. We, ourselves, were the teachers.

Phyllis was the financial manager, and I was the grunt; the guy who got it all done.

We went from a situation where we were constantly worried about if and how we could pay the bills, to the point where we could just write a check, and even have money to loan.

We’ve been able to travel. We went by boat and plane and motor home, lots of the time, just by ourselves. We liked to go with other people, and frequently did, but we were OK just by ourselves. We really didn’t need anyone else.

We had a houseboat on Lake Mohave where we spent many long weekends. Phyllis loved the houseboat and she was good at driving it, and she water skied and pulled water skiers with our little boat.

We went on small plane trips and river running trips. Phyllis was exceptionally generous in allowing me to go on river running trips and small plane trips and the like, without her, as she didn’t enjoy these things very much and she knew that I did.

Most of all, we had a long life, full of love and devotion to each other. Now that she is gone, there’s not much left for me. I wish I could believe, as many do, that I will be reunited with her. My practical brain says, “not likely.”

One last very important thing; we knew and appreciated what we had, while we had it.