AFFIRMATIONS DIVINE

Happy 58th Anniversary to my Mom and Dad!

Barbara and Bruce Foster!

This post is dedicated to what I know about my Mom and Dad, and their love for each other.

My stream of conscious thought does not travel through any specific order of importance, I just love doing my thinking and writing this way.

But back to the topic, how did they stay married 58 Years?

In order to try to answer this question, let me describe them to you.

First, comes Fun.

My Mom and Dad are just plain fun.  People love to be around them because they are not boring.

Now my mom loves fine dining.

When we were growing up, that might mean McDonalds, or Shoney’s, or The Texan.

Eventually it began to mean Western Siz, Bonanza, (pronounced Bow-non-zah by my dad, with the Bow getting all the emphasis), Ruby Tuesday, and finally Taco Bell.

My dad used to object to the eating out, but he has come to love it as well.

Let’s face it, mom and dad are some of the busiest 78 year-olds I know, and they just don’t have tons of time for preparing meals and all that, plus, some of the best fun is had with friends and family while fine dining.

Second, comes Faith.

Now don’t criticize, this is not in order of importance.

Mom and Dad love God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

They just do, always have and always will.

They pray for their family every day, and their friends, and also a lot of other people.  Anytime I need them to pray with me over the phone, about any matter, day or night, all I have to do is call, and we all pray together.

They taught me long ago about putting faith above reason.

Third, Mom and Dad are extremely competitive.

My mom loves to throw my dad big parties.  In fact, she loves to just party.  She loves to shock him every Christmas and birthday.  She once convinced him that he was going to the airport to pick up a Llama, and, he believed her.

Well I was flying into St. Louis for his birthday, and I was the Llama.

Guess you had to be there, but it was pretty funny.

For every faux Llama my mother has bestowed upon my father, my father has bestowed fine jewelry upon my mother.

She probably does not want this info out there, but she has some loot.  Now if you are inclined to robbery or break-ins, stay away from their house, because trust me, you would not survive a break-in.  My father is totally all about the 2nd amendment.

I guess the take-away from the competitive tendencies would be to never stop trying to figure out how to outdo your parter in spoiling them rotten.

Fourth, Mom and Dad love Adventure.

So far, that’s my biggest understatement.  If you visit my parents home, there are animals everywhere.  These trophies are a testament to my father’s love of hunting and nature.  Dad is just passionate about hunting.  He has the Elk, Deer, Antelope, Mountain Lion, and probably something else I’m leaving out, to prove it.  Dad knows how to be a solitary person, and he restores his soul and mind while being with nature.

Dad also loves photography but he has no time for snobbery, he’ll use whatever camera he has on hand for his masterpieces.  For dad the very best camera is always the camera on hand when he’s ready to  sh0ot.  Dad takes delight in his pictures, and shares his delight with others.  We’re all begging him to make us a calendar with his pictures.  His answer to that is, “I’m a busy Man”.

 That’s his true artistic nature coming through.

Mother also is a hunter gatherer, but her main kills occur at the 75% off racks down at the mall.

My mother has never shied away from any store, (except maybe Kmart).  She always walks in as if she’s part owner.  This never ceases to amaze me.  High price stores can feel intimidating.  Not for my momma.  She marches in those stores like a warrior, ready to make a conquest, and usually comes home with the spoils.  Naturally, those spoils are shared with her offspring.  God knew what he was doing when he gave her four daughters, and she has been totally generous with all her loot.

She’s probably the only person I know who knows all the workers at her Costco, and when she walks in these people light up, because she really does care about every one of them.

Mom’s also a sight to behold zipping around the airport donned in the latest scarfs, hats and travel luggage.  My mom is nobody’s fool.  She knows about the dangers in the world, and we all think she’s a secret member of the CIA, FBI, and probably an adviser for National Security.  She’s the picture of love, suspicion, discretion, and pure fun, all rolled into one amazing lady.

So how did these two make it to 58, when so many, I myself included will not?

Independence, sense of humor, love, a feisty spirit, good genetics, and much more certainly all play a part, but in my mind their loyalty really jumps out at me.

My mom and dad are fiercely loyal to each other.  Period, end of story.

They just do not speak unkind words to anyone outside of the family, regarding each other.  Not casually, jokingly, or ever disrespectfully.

Don’t get me wrong.  All 58 years have not been peaches and cream, easy breezy.  They’ve worked hard on their union.  But honor and respect, has played an indelible part.

As much as they respect each other, they respect themselves.  They know who they are, what they want, and they want that marriage.

They give each other the space they need to be who they are, and they remain steadfast, first and foremost, to God.

What they do for each other, they are doing for God, and God in turn, has returned this loyalty back to them and given them 58 years to enjoy his gift.

Well, for now, this sums up my surmising.

Love you Mom and Dad, with all my heart!

Robyn