Valentines Day

I was blessed to come from an intact and loving family. My parents loved and cared for each other, as did my grandparents. Seeing their steady love for each other was an inspiration to me and it was what I wanted in my relationships.

Minus the silly Dad Jokes my dad would regale us with. Or the way he would embarass me in front of my friends.

But I am thankful for the rich heritage they passed onto us as their children. Their faith in Christ our Lord, that wavered at times, but a faith that was upheld and that they leaned into through poor times and rich times, through healthy times and the many times my father was ill. I can still hear their murmured prayers coming from their bedroom as my father and mother prepared themselves for yet another surgery for my father. Yet another hospitalization and long recuperation.

I am thankful for fun and happy memories. My dad coming home from work and the first thing he would do, after he got his boots off, was to go give my mom a hug and a kiss. And if music was playing on the radio, a quick turn around the kitchen in an impromptu dance.

Sitting at the table, after supper, after devotions when my mom would either read the lastest letter she got from her sisters in California, Tasmania, or Washington, her mother and father and two sisters still rooted in The Netherlands, the homeland.

Watching them skate together, hands clasped in front and behind as they wove a pattern that they had perfected over the years. together, hands clasped in front, skating side by side, both leading left, then right. Perfect harmony. Like they did on the canals in The Netherlands when they were young.

I remember fights too, of course. Tight lipped, looking straight ahead as my father drove, neither wanting to give an inch. Both stubborn Dutchmen. My mom with her quick moves as she cleaned up, her body expressing what her mouth didn't.

Those never lasted long. My Dad would either forget about the fight or get tired of the tension and apologize. (Mom could hold a grudge longer than he could). They they would hug and my dad would give mom that special smile and she would give in.

Woven through all of this was a deep, abiding, faithful love. The kind of love that rooted them through so many experiences. That was an example to all of us.

So this Valentines Day, sure, lets talk about romance and racing heartbeats (things I like to write about) but also remember that the love that grows richer, stronger and deeper with time.

Both my parents are gone now, but their legacy remains.