30 Year Anniversary

Back in the 1981 - 1982 school year, I was a freshman at a junior college in Powell, Wyoming, still living with my prints and riding the shuttle bus to school every day 30 miles each direction.  I was geeky and awkward and had never had a boyfriend, but this one guy caught my attention. He looked a lot like me, and for awhile every time I looked up I would see him walking bowlegged and lanky like a cowboy, across the campus.  Then in January as the second semester started he began catching the shuttle bus too.  An enterprising friend of mine found his name, and even better, found an ad he had placed in the Hot-Line looking for someone to carpool with for the evening classes, and his play practice.

So I called, and arranged to give him a lift home on the days I had a late class, but I was crushed that a woman answered his phone, with a cheery, "This is April!"

Later I was much happier to learn that April was his12 year older sister, and that he had moved in with her and her husband after a semester in the dorms.

We had our first date driving to see a friend of mine playing piano at Pahaska TeePee at the gate to Yellowstone Park.  As we entered the bar, Greg was carded, but the woman looked at his ID, looked at me, and waved me in, "You are obviously twins."  So 18 year old me, enjoyed the music and some food and soda, and wondered hat she thought about the twins who kept kissing every few minutes.

By October of 1982, we were living together, which made Greg's mom and Dad relax because Greg was the youngest of 6 kids and they had seen several divorces from young marriages already.  It made my Mom and Dad cry and disown me for awhile, and then invite us bcd for my brother Lance's birthday.  He was 6 and has Down's Syndrome and was Mom's excuse, I knew "Lance Misses you." meant they all did.

In May of 1984, we were still living in Powell but packing to move to the Black Hills Playhouse in Cuter State Park for Summer jobs before moving to Ashland Oregon to continue beyond Jr. college.

On May 20th we went to the movie, "Footloose" with a friend, the twin sister of the Piano player actually, and then we went home and finished packing. The next day, on a whim, we looked at each other as we hauled boxes to storage and decided to get married. We went in for the required blood test and paperwork and then went to get my parents and brothers. We told them, "get in the car if you want to come to our wedding, or we'll get witnesses for a drink at the Silver Dollar."

The wedding was quick at the Justice of the Peace and three hours later, after dinner at the Chinese Restaurant, Greg called his parents and when his Mom, said, "Don't get married. You're too young, when are you thinking about getting married anyway?"  He had to answer, "Three hours ago."

These are our fancy wedding clothes. I'm pretty sure I even had cobwebs in my hair from storing moving boxes into Mom and Dad's basement

Dad, Me, Greg and my Brother, Brett

The Bride and Groom and Grandma Grace

Us, at the cabin in Custer State Park where we lived and worked at Blackhills Playhouse

3 years later as students of Beijing Teacher's College  1987

Moving to Crescent City and the Redwoods as new teachers in 1989

Our family in 1996

and at the campground 25 years after getting married

But here we are, Tomorrow will be our 30th anniversary, and we have been Grandparents of Daisy Grace for 3 and 1/2 weeks.  We'll teach all day and his music kids will have a concert that evening. So it won't be anything but a normal day and yet, those are the best, the everyday, curl up beside him at the end of another day of work and smile because he is still my best friend, my biggest headache, and the reason I love being me.