Remembering the girl that stole my heart and I married 46 years ago today. I find joy in the memories even in grief of her loss.

It was late last night, and I should have been getting ready for bed on what would be, our 46th Wedding Anniversary Eve. I wanted to get an early start on this post. So I had put together a few notes surrounding this wonderful marriage I had so that I could decide on what my post would tell. So I’ve just let my thoughts roll on, sharing and hoping it will somehow encourage anybody that has lost someone they love, that it’s ok to hurt, ok to cry out to God, and it’s gonna get better. This had been a good day with only a few tears, and things are moving forward even though last year my wife was with me.

Last night Katie and I watched a few episodes of Anime until it was time to go to bed. Tonight will be a special 48 minute episode. We all three would spend the Anniversary together going somewhere, eating somewhere, or just chilling at home like we did last year. This year there will be no celebrations. You can’t celebrate what isn’t. You can only celebrate a memory and think about the wonderful times you shared. This year’s Anniversary will be just that. Katie and I may get us an ice cream cone. We’re gonna keep moving forward and remembering the good times like we’ve been doing every day, the new normal life, and create some new memories together. The future is bright because God has planned it all out. Looking forward to it.

On October 24th,1977, Robert Allen King and Mary Margaret Christine Peters were joined together in Holy Matrimony to have and to hold for better or worse, till death do they part. And we did just that until July 11th, 2023 when Mary was taken from this life into eternity. Leaving behind her husband, children, and beautiful family whom she loved dearly. She was some kind of wonderful. A joy to my heart, a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother. A teacher to children needing to know Jesus. Patience a mile long. A caregiver in a chapter of time to my Mom, Great Aunt, and Grandmother, making sure they had their needs met and having a great time in outings. She sacrificed for our kids when they were growing up. She tried to involve herself in everything she could to see that they caught at least a glimpse of some fun and goodness in life. Especially Girl Scouts and the ball fields. Mary was a special kind of girl that I wish everyone could have gotten to know. Yes, she was smart. Logical. Patient. Kind. Loving. Is there a book big enough to tell all? I think not. So I’ll stop and just consider how fortunate, lucky, and blessed I was to have known her almost my whole life and to be joined as one with her. “I love you like a rock all day” is what she would say. I miss her…everything about her.

So, how and where do I start writing a post to celebrate remembrance when I’m still brought to tears at times thinking about it? This is just part of grief. The hurt, sorrow, and pain you feel at times is actually a good reminder of how you loved someone. How blessed and fortunate I am that I did and do. I reminisced over the past years and thought about our trips to the Myrtle Beach, The Memphis, Tyler, and Columbia zoos, Museums, Surprise Trips for Kids, Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays, New Years Parties, Birthdays, Six Flags, Cooking Home Meals, Eating pizza, Grilling out, Kids Church, Road Trips, Comic Cons, Concerts, Dinner Boat Cruise, Mud Island, Beale St., Waved at Houston, Galveston Tx. Beach, Nashville, Dallas, WWF Monday Night Nitro, Disney World, Casino in a Limo, and on and on and so much more…We renewed our Wedding vows on our 35th wedding Anniversary and Celebration Surprise Party in 2012. We’ve had a blast all these years!…and we had kids in there too!.. 2 girls and 1 boy, 9 grand kids, and 1 great grand! The picture below was for a dinner cruise on Mississippi River Boat. I think I had squeezed her or poked her when the photo snapped…That’s why her smile is weird ..lol…It was a fun night. A romantic scene as I held her in my arms at the rails looking at the Memphis night lights as we floated down the river with a warm breeze on us. We had dinner and the band played our song too. “Can’t Help Falling In Love”…. I loved her.

Yesterday I was looking at a picture of her wearing a coat. In the pocket, was a grocery item list. Right away I knew what it was. It was the Christmas dinner shopping list. We always had our traditional Christmas eve dinner with sausage, ham, biscuits, snow on logs, pink stuff, veggies,..etc.. It’s funny how you can get emotional over the simplest items after someone is gone. I miss taking those pictures of her. She wasn’t a fan of my picture taking nor did she have patience if it wasn’t a point and shoot photo. Had to be quick. But I always made her wait.. lol. There’s a picture of her standing on the corner of Mary and King street in Charleston S.C. that’s one of our favorites. Pictures and places, where some good times we have shared.

I didn’t want to mention the Cancer, but it’s like a white elephant in the room. It ruined every thing we had planned out here in the Carolinas. I do weep at times over that, because there was so much more to do…together. We all had to slow down. Even before she was diagnosed she was getting ill and I could see it in her body as it changed. Cancer is a thief, and has a way of changing everything. I think Fall of 2021 was the last quick beach trip for her November birthday. She was a fun loving girl. We shuda, wouda, couda..done more. But you know what?.. We did enough and got to talk about it before she died. We decided it was all good and grand. We made a good life together. We didn’t live a Rockefeller lifestyle, but we lived ours, and loved deeply…never separated, or divorced, not one time in 46 years… We only had one big argument in 46 years.. We were proud of our married life. We were very happily married. We made great kids too, and proud of all three of them! and had fun makin them! ..haha

There’s a quilt that’s laying on top of the bed now. My favorite of all that she made. Her first one. It’s keeping me warm on these cooler nights now in October. Her first quilt. Today is the first wedding anniversary date without her….the first of the firsts…Celebrating her remembrance…

Happy Anniversary Sweetheart,..12:09 a.m.