For over 32 years we've lived, loved, laughed, cried, worked, hoped, prayed, cried and laughed some more; been up, down, around, sometimes under, but never, ever "flattened" by anything!  With the blessings of God, the luck He gives us, a lot of prayers and the belief that we're never alone and will never be deserted by "The Man Upstairs", we've made it through life and will continue to go on until our time on this mortal plane is up.

We're each other's best friend on earth.  Being friends first, lovers second and husband and wife third, plus a well-timed sense of humor on each of our parts has kept us together and happy.

Mutual respect for each other as human beings---we still say "please" and "thank you" to each other---giving each other our "personal space" (a term that didn't exist when we were married), and letting each other be ourselves has all played a big role in staying together.

Marriage is definitely not 50-50!  Unless it's 75-75, with each of you giving the extra percentage when it's needed, you don't stand a chance.

I often tell my husband that both of our failed first marriages were "practice".  Our ex's "trained" us right---if we hadn't had those first "lessons in what not to do", our present marriage would not have lasted.  (And, our ex-spouses have us to thank for any successes they may have had in any relationships they have had since we parted ways with them!)

We have six children in our Blended Family---my four and Tom's two, plus one son who "adopted us".  There are fourteen grandchildren;  all of them are scattered all over our country and Canada.

We try not to give advice unless it's asked for because we know that it's seldom taken or appreciated---just as we, as young adults, seldom took or appreciated advice we were given.  Mistakes are the best teachers, but also the most painful way to learn.

"Pictures are worth a thousand words."  "Personal mistakes and failures are more valuable than a thousand books or 'Wise Words from Parents'--and last longer in the memory."  (By the way, those "wise words" are not from any book---they are my gift to all who may read them; although you won't remember them or learn a thing from them!)

My personal belief is that our paths are already set when we are born; we are all blessed by our Creator with free will:  there are only two things in this life that each of us can control:  1.  OUR actions, and 2.  OUR re-actions.  Everything else is the problem of each other individual on the planet.

Peace, Love and God bless.