THIRTEEN YEARS AGO TODAY

Today is a dreary, cloudy, rainy Saturday morning. The atmosphere mirrors my attitude and disposition. I really should not feel "yukky" today because it is the anniversary of Billy's death - I should feel happy thinking about him and the life that we lived for 46 years. When I think about that 14 year old "first love" in my life and the very early, actually way too young to be married, life I can't help but smile. We married with no thought whatsoever about our future. We had no money, a furnished apartment, no car, a good job for me but a very mediocre job for him. Do you think we ever gave all of that a thought? No. We bought a car. We moved to a nicer apartment. We had lots of good friends. We had parents who, even though they didn't approve or understand us, nevertheless gave us support. Then, we had Nita. Oh my goodness, two children with a child. It is a thousand wonders we didn't kill her. The nanny that came to me after her birth told me that "the instructions come with babies" and that must have been true because we all thrived and it was wonderful. Twenty months later came Corinne and a larger, nicer apartment, better job for Billy and life was grand for two people who were actually still children, Later came Kim and Tracey and nicer, larger homes, better jobs, friends and family, and all of the blessings that God continued to pour out on us. Billy became quite an expert on the subject of men's shoes - traveling the world studying leathers and styles. He was known for his innovative ideas - ideas that were ahead of his time and proved to be his downfall in the business. However, he spent many years in other fields and, even though he was not as dedicated and happy, he did an admirable job. The main thing that I have to say is that he had a love of God, and a lust for life. He loved his friends. His greatest love was his family. To Billy Cline, Nita, Corinne, Kim and Tracey (and me) were the true loves of his life. As the girls grew and married his sons-in-law became very important to him but then came Chris, Drew, Leslie, Emily, Patrick, Courtney and Carter and his love knew no bounds. That group of individuals were perfect in his sight. There was no activity that escaped his presence when it was possible - ball games, dance recitals, grandparent's days, etc. How sad that he was called away before he was able to know the great-grandchildren. Wouldn't he have the biggest grin on his face when this whole group gathers for Christmas? I can see him now with is white hair, immaculate clothing, his polished to shining shoes, his clipped fingernails, his straight carriage and his twinkling blue eyes as he surveys the room with a proud expression on his face. I could write many stories about Billy - some good and some not as good - but I will stop now and just remember that not everybody in this world has the advantage of marrying their high school sweetheart, living-loving-laughing through many years and then saying "so long and I will see you again and we can start all over". Being able to know that I will see him again makes me really happy to say that God is good - all the time.