50 YEARS and COUNTING

 This is a SPECIAL DAY. And this post is not quilt related--check back next week for quilty stuff.

50 years ago we got married at MCAS Cherry Point, NC. We met on the 4th of July 1975, and had our first date on August 17, 1975--he asked me to marry him on that date. I said "no". I joined the Marine Corps to see the world, not get married. I was barely 21 years old. He was almost 29. 

A week later he asked again and I said "maybe". There were 40 women and 2000 men going through The Basic School--new officer training. I quickly saw he was the best one there. The next week when he asked again I said "If you're serious, let's go get a ring." Off to the jewelry store we went and it was official.

This was a great story until we had teenagers. I told them "Forget you ever heard that. You have to know someone for years to know they are the right one!" 

A little look back at 50 years that seems like a lifetime ago but also seems to have flown by:

1975: we were so young:

1978: Joshua arrived. Three generations of Wilkins men.  Will's parents came to visit just before Will left for a one year unaccompanied tour in Okinawa Japan: 

1980:  Andrew arrived and our family was complete. My parents came to visit:

1981: we survived our first Tax Season. I started working for H&R Block when Andy was 3 weeks old:

1982:

1984:

1986:

The next 20 years are a bit of a blur. Will retired from the United States Marine Corps in 1988. We moved from Northern Virginia to Huntsville Alabama, an excellent move. I worked for H&R Block and Patches & Stitches and sold Longaberger Baskets. Will worked as a Civil Engineer, a job for which he was well suited. The boys grew, life was busy. And it was good.

Jump ahead to 2006:

2012: Andy and Lauren found each other and there was a wedding:

2015: Blessings arrived in the form of STELLA:

2016: St Louis was a long drive but we made that trip several times to see Stella, (and Lauren/Andy). And they came to see us:

2018: More blessings, the gift of Samuel:

2019: The grandkids moved back to Alabama--oh, happy day! Sam's first birthday:

2021: I was traveling a lot to teach and still making as many quilts as possible. An important one is the Quilt of Valor I made for Will. It was presented to him at this ceremony July 15, 2021:

Once I started teaching on quilter's cruises, Will traveled with me. Paid vacations for us both. March 2023, on  a Caribbean cruise: 

2024: Joshua was hired to do a photo shoot of me for Woman's World magazine.  He took this great portrait of us together in the spur of the moment. So glad we have this shot, taken March 15, 2024:

Less than two weeks later our third blessing arrived: OLIVER! (We are not allowed to show his face on social media--too bad because he's awesome cute, with the bluest eyes ever!)

May 2024--a reproduction of the photo taken in 1978 of Joshua, Will and PawPaw Wilkins--in the same outfit:

2024: June 1--the whole family got together. Now this generation of the family is complete:

2024: August on an Alaskan cruise, where I was teaching:

2024: Christmas:

2025: our 49th anniversary:

June 2025: Disney with Stella and Sam and their folks:

September 2025: I taught on two cruises, back to back. First, New England and Canada:

                                                        

                                                    

Then on to Bermuda:

November 2025: I received my own Quilt of Valor:

2026: the most recent photo, taken Easter Sunday with Stella, Sam and Leroy Brown--the newest member of their family:

I have a theory about what makes for a happy marriage. It's when both people think they are the LUCKY ONE. And they are BOTH RIGHT. That's certainly the case for us. He knew what he wanted. And I was smart enough not to miss the opportunity to hitch my wagon to his star. 

Fifty years sounds SO long, but DON'T BLINK! Time goes by so quickly.

Now, let's quilt!

Barbara