Eternal Sweethearts

By Sandra Wilkins

I want to pay tribute to Veteran’s Day this year by telling a love story. My paternal grandparents were married on November 11, 1942 in a pastor’s home just a couple of days before he went into the Army Air Corps after being drafted. Following boot camp and being stationed at various U.S. bases, he was sent to Framlingham Air Base in England. He was with the 568^th Bomb Sq. of the 390^th Bomb Group. He was trained as a mechanic, but, mostly, his work consisted of loading bombs onto the B-17’s that flew day missions over Germany. He was there about three years and he and my grandma wrote numerous love letters back and forth—which she saved in a scrapbook. I want to share part of one of them with you:

       

                                                                                                  Somewhere in England,

                                                                                                            May 19, 1944

 Dearest Wife,

             I will answer your letters I received today. I was really glad to hear from you. I am okay and I hope this finds you the same…

            Darling, I received the pictures today that you sent me. They are really good pictures. As I sit here now looking at your picture while I write this letter I can’t see how I was ever lucky enough to get a sweet girl like you. Sweetheart I love you so much. You get more beautiful every day.

            Darling I can’t hardly wait until we can be together again. Pictures make me homesick but I love to get them. A couple of the boys here in the barracks want the picture with you on the horse but I wouldn’t part with any of them for anything in this world…

            You know honey sometimes I wish we had a baby but with this war on one can’t tell what will happen…

                                                           
                             With all my Love,

                                        Melvin

            In one letter he said he was scheduled to go to the Pacific theater and he dreaded the possibility. He was able to get leave and landed in the U.S. on Grandma’s birthday in 1945. World War II ended and he was discharged. They ended up having two boys—the youngest is my dad. My grandparents had a long, happy life together. They helped each other with whatever had to be done. He could cook and clean and she helped with building things and gardening.

            They were eternal sweethearts—holding hands, laughing, sharing their love of music and being there for each other in sickness and health, in good times and bad. I wonder how they were able to stay that way. Maybe, the threat of looming death at the beginning makes spouses more grateful and they never take each other for granted.

            Grandma passed away in 1996 and Grandpa in 2008. He never dated anyone after she passed, but waited for the time they could be together again. I long to know their secret. The older I get, the more I wish I could ask them how they lived such a shining example of love and joy in marriage because it was an amazing thing to see.

   Sandra Wilkins is busy writing another series while home educating her two daughters. Ada’s Heart, Rose’s Hope and Gwen’s Honor are her first three published wholesome historical romances.
 Go to www.sandrawilkins.com to find out more about her and her books.

We All Need a Little Help

By

Sandra Wilkins

          Are you the type of person that doesn’t mind asking for help?  I have to admit, I’m not geared that way.  I feel like I’m bothering someone, or that I should know how to do something, or that it’s easier to do it myself. 

          I’ve learned over the years to weigh each project and then decide if assistance is needed.  Painting the porch posts?  That was an easy one to accomplish on my own when I was ready to do it.  I didn’t have to wait around for someone to help.  Bulldozing untamed land for a house pad?  Better let a professional handle that one.  Spreading newly dumped gravel for a driveway?  That’s a tricky one.  My dad’s tractor wasn’t running, my uncle was out of town, and I hated to ask anyone else.  What a relief it was when my dad was able to repair his old tractor on one of the hottest days this year and spread the gravel.  Maybe any dad would do it for his “baby girl”, but is sure is wonderful to not have to ask for aid sometimes.  It can arrive in unexpected ways—like when a friend listens to you when you’re down, or your child does chores without complaining.  It can be simple things or big things—but we all need help once in a while. 

          Sandra Wilkins is busy writing another series while home educating her two daughters.  Ada’s Heart, Rose’s Hope and Gwen’s Honor are her first three published wholesome historical romances.  Go to www.sandrawilkins.com to find out more about her and her books.  

Winter Never Lasts Forever

Posted by Sandra Wilkins

         Softly, snow floats to the ever-whitening ground.  All of nature seems to pause as if to respect the peacefulness.  Children and adults alike press their glowing faces to the cold panes of glass in great anticipation. 

          Well…maybe not.  When Oklahoma recently had another round of snow, I was jolted to reality as I recognized a lot of people aren’t fond of the fluffy white stuff. Around here, there is the frantic run to the grocery store at the first mention of it.  Fretting and worrying seem to be natural responses to the news.  A few inches cause school and church closings.  Complaints about bad roads and freezing weather are on almost everyone’s lips. 

          Then, I think about those hardy New Englanders under feet of snow.  They must certainly be tired of the man-made mountains and frigid temperatures.  How they survive is beyond me.  My hat’s off to them—they might need it anyway.  

          I have the feeling I’m in a minority when it comes to liking winter weather.  I adore sitting at my kitchen table with my steaming cup of coffee and watching the flakes drifting toward earth from the gray sky.  I think it’s a lovely sight.  It’s a reminder to slow down and delight in the beauty around me.  When it melts a day or two later, the roads are clear and it’s only a memory.   

          Sometimes it feels as if we’re stuck in a repeating pattern of drudgery, but things do change.  It’s the way of life.  So, if you’re one of those who is tired of the dreary days of bone chilling weather or if you have a battered, worn soul—just remember—winter never lasts forever. 

         Sandra Wilkins is busy writing another series while home educating her two daughters.  Ada’s Heart, Rose’s Hope and Gwen’s Honor are her first three published wholesome historical romances.  Go to www.sandrawilkins.com to find out more about her and her books. 

Getting to Know Us—Love Songs

Collected by Jayne Ormerod

 Let’s all sing together now (cue the bouncing ball over the words…)

“What the world needs now is love sweet love…it’s the only thing that there is just too little of!”

In keeping with the Classic and Cozy them this month, we are forgoing our regular one-on-one interview with one of our bloggers but instead have invited members to share with us their favorite Love Song.  Choices say a lot about a person, IMHO, so let’s get to know us a little better. And by the end of your post you might have a few ideas for a Valentine’s Play List. 

Gina Ardito:

My all-time favorite love song is "At Last" by Etta James. Here's why:

Okay, don't tell my husband, but before I met him, I was dating someone else and that song came on the radio while we were parked outside my parents' house. It was late--definitely after midnight. Well, he turned up the music and told me to get out of the car. Baffled, I stepped out, and he proceeded to slow dance with me on the front lawn. All these decades later, it's still one of the most romantic things I've ever experienced.

Sandra Wilkens:

Pick a love song?  Oh, my.  Music of all genres can capture my heart, but I was able to narrow it down.  I’ve enjoyed John Denver’s music since I was a girl and I would sit in my grandma’s black rocking chair to listen to his record.  “Annie’s Song” was a favorite romantic song for most of my life, but a few years ago I found a little known gem called “For You”.  It’s his pure voice and a piano.  The entire song is lovely, but these lines really resonate with me.  “Just to look in your eyes again…Just to live in your laughter…Just to sing in your heart…Just to be every one of your dreams come true…For you—for the rest of my life…For you—all the best of my life…For you alone, only for you.” 

Janis Susan May Patterson

My favorite love song is "If Tomorrow Never Comes - Will She Know How Much I Loved Her" as done by Garth Brooks. It was the song he was singing (at a concert) when I decided that after 50 years of singledom I wanted to marry the man who became my husband. 

Leigh Verrill-Rhys

My favorite love song is: Stephen Bishop's "Looking for the Right One." I heard this song when my husband and I were on a date when we first met (to be detailed on February 24th). The song is so evocative of romance and the heartache of searching for love. I used a line from the Beatles' "I Will" for my debut romance "Wait a Lonely Lifetime" which is echoed in Bishop's later recorded song. Art Garfunkel also recorded  "Looking for the Right One" but Bishop does it best.

Victoria M. Johnson

I'm a die hard Beatles fan--so picking just one favorite love song is hard.  But since my arm is being twisted here, "If I Fell" gets my vote as the most romantic.  The words are so raw, of someone hurt and vulnerable, someone who truly wants to give love another try.  The lyrics are heart wrenching actually.  I would love to love you...  I'm getting choked up just thinking about it.  


Jayne Ormerod

In high school the song my BFF and I thought was THE most romantic song ever was “Muskrat Love” by Captain and Tenille (now divorced…but I digress…)  When it gets to the part about Muskrat Suzie and Muskrat Sam doing the Jitterbug well we substituted our own names paired with whomever the boy was we liked at the time.  My friend Barb would sing “Muskrat Barbie and Muskrat Steve” every time.  She ended up marrying him too! 

So for those of you who have forgotten the lyrics (or are maybe too young to have ever heard them), don’t expect great romance.  In fact from the distance of time they sound kind of cheesey.  But that’s the way we were back in the late 70’s.

Copyright laws preculde me from publishing the lyrics here, but if you need are very curious about the song, you can hear the song and ready the lyrics here:  http://www.oldielyrics.com/lyrics/captain_and_tennille/muskrat_love.html
But consider yourself warned, it's a tough song to get out of your mind!