Don — Page 211

The Story of the Valentine’s Day Surprise

February 15, 2012 at 10:19 am by Claudia

See that (youngish) couple on the beach? There’s a Valentine’s Day story to this photo so I thought I’d share it with you.

Many moons ago, 1995 to be exact, when Don and I were courting, one January day we took one of our walks together on a local beach in San Diego. This particular beach was special to us because we’d met there. I was about to leave on a two week trip to audition prospective students for the theater program.

We had only known each other about 6 months. But we were in love, that we knew.

A man approached us, camera in hand, and introduced himself. He was a photographer for the San Diego Union Tribune and had been taking photos of us from the pier. Could he use one of them in a story slated for Valentine’s Day?

We were both surprised by the whole thing and after hesitating a bit, said yes.

He took down our information and gave us his card.

Almost immediately, I regretted saying yes. You see, we both worked at the same theater. I had students that also worked there. We were keeping our courtship very quiet because I didn’t want everyone, especially my students, to know about my personal life. At least not until we saw where this new relationship was going.

I panicked. I had visions of everyone at the theater talking about our photo being in the paper. Of someone ripping it out of the paper and posting it on one of the bulletin boards at the theater. Since I had to leave, I begged Don to call the photographer and say we had changed our minds. He did. We still wanted a copy of the photo if at all possible so Don asked him if we might be able to get a copy. We’d be happy to pay for it. No, the photographer said, it was against the policies of the newspaper to give a copy of a photo to anyone who was not willing to be credited in print. Ah well.

I left town. I came down with the flu while I was away and arrived home on Valentine’s Day eve, sicker than a dog. The morning of Valentine’s Day, Don knocked on my door with flowers, chocolate and a wrapped package in hand. Still sick, I unwrapped the package to find this framed photo.

I couldn’t believe my eyes.

How did he do it? Well, Don has his ways. He pursued the photographer, told him our story, charmed and cajoled him until that lovely man said he’d make a copy for us. No charge. I had no idea any of this had been going on. I just sat there, framed photo in hand, and cried.

You do understand why I fell in love with him, don’t you?

This remains one of our most cherished possessions.

I hope you were surrounded by love yesterday and every day.

Where Old Glasses Go to Die

February 4, 2012 at 9:57 am by Claudia

Sad, isn’t it? Broken side pieces. One pair taped with electrical tape, another with painter’s tape.

No more searching for the pair that works for television watching. Or the other pair that works for reading. Or driving at night. Or computer work. No more Where are my glasses….have you seen them? ten times a day. No more Which glasses? The black ones? The round ones? in response. No more shoving 2 or 3 pair in pockets in case they are needed at work.

Those days are over.

Just one pair now. And adult pair of glasses for a guy who never had a problem with his eyes until those years came along. You know, the years where you find yourself holding your book or menu or newspaper farther away so you can read it. Where watching television is frustrating because you can’t really see the large screen very well.

There.

I think he looks pretty cute.

My Boys are Under the Weather

January 29, 2012 at 11:01 am by Claudia

Sunny skies on this Sunday morning. Thank you Old Man Winter. You’ll see photos of this particular view fairly often on the blog. This is what I see when I stand in the kitchen doorway and look up. That’s a maple on the left, the catalpa in the middle and our sugar maple on the right, along with a cast of thousands. We have a lot of trees.

My boy Riley had a very bad night. I woke up to discover he’d had some elimination problems (no big deal, we’re used to that now) and he’d somehow managed to get wedged half-way under the kitchen island. I can only imagine he panicked and, since he has problems getting around anyway, somehow slipped on the wood floor and couldn’t get up. When I managed to get him up, he kept collapsing. I finally got him outside where he regained a little strength in his legs.

He’s exhausted. Life is hard for my dear boy and I try to reassure him when he’s distressed or worried. Because he does worry. At this point in his life, nothing is worth one second of his feeling bad or guilty.

We try to make getting around as easy as possible. We lift him up and down the stairs. We help him up when his body is stiff and sore. When we look outside and see a mass of mud on the path to the corral, Don runs to the Agway to get some hay.

We cover the mud and tamp it down, so he can get a solid footing. (We put a bit too much down this time!) I vacuum up bits of hay every day. But if it helps Mr. Riley, I’ll vacuum ten times a day.

Don has a cold. Both my boys are having a tough time of it.

Scout and I are fine. Right, Scout?

What are your plans for this Sunday? Is it sunny in your neck of the woods?

The Story of the Valentine’s Day Surprise

Where Old Glasses Go to Die

My Boys are Under the Weather

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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