Meet in the Middle

My friend, Lori, who used to live next door to us when we lived in the parsonage, called me yesterday to tell me that, for some reason, every time she hears this song, she thinks of Tim and me.  I'm not a country music fan, so I had never heard the song.  But, when I read the lyrics, it did remind me of the days before Tim and I had our driver's license and we would walk the road between his house and mine in our early years as high school sweethearts.  And it brought tears to my eyes.  Thank you, Lori, for bringing back those precious memories!

Meet in the Middle

By Diamond Rio

It was seven hundred fenceposts from your place to ours
Neither one of us was old enough to drive a car
Sometimes it was raining, sometimes it would shine
We wore out that gravel road between your house and mine

I'd start walking your way
You'd start walking mine
We'd meet in the middle
'Neath that old Georgia pine

We'd gain a lot of ground
'Cause we'd both give a little
And their ain't no road to long
When you meet in the middle

It's been seven years tomorrow since we said our vows

Under that old pine tree, you ought to see it now
Standing in the back yard reminding me and you
That if we don't see eye to eye there's something we can do

I'd start walking your way
You'd start walking mine
We'd meet in the middle
'Neath that old Georgia pine

We'd gain a lot of ground
'Cause we'd both give a little
And their ain't no road to long
When you meet in the middle

Babe I love the way we work it out
That's what love's about

Sweetheart Days
Tim's family moved into a house on his great uncle Bill's property about a quarter of a mile down the road from our house.  That would be River Road, Route 8, along the Ohio River on the Kentucky side.  Our mailing addresses were Hebron even though we lived next to Taylorsport.

I'll never forget the first day Tim sat by me as we road the bus home from school.  I always gravitated to the back of the bus because that's where the boy I liked usually sat.  I liked him, but he didn't know I existed, LOL!  Anyway, I didn't want Tim to sit by me because I was hoping beyond hope that my "boyfriend" would sit there.  So, when Tim stood by my seat that day, and in his gentlemanly way asked if the seat next to me was taken and if not could he sit there, I answered with all the smart-aleckness I could muster, "It doesn't look like anyone is sitting there, so I guess you can sit there."  I don't remember any of the conversation we might have had on the way home, but I imagine that it was pretty cold!  After Tim was dropped off my stop was next, and as I got off the bus, the driver (Mrs. Roark) said to me, "New boyfriend?"  I answered, in a loud enough voice that my "real boyfriend" could hear, "NO!  He stinks!"  Imagine that!  I'm surprised Tim EVER looked at me twice after that day!  And it would have served me right!  Thank You, LORD, that You had other plans for us!

The ages of Tim's siblings were about the same as my siblings, so it turned out that they would come to our house to play.  We lived next door to a kid (Mark Kenyon) who had a nice backyard where we played softball and football.  Other times we played in our yard.  We lived across the road from some fields that we would play in, too, especially when we played hide-and-seek.  And we loved playing in the other neighbor's barn in the hay loft and there was an old piano that we loved to bang on.  We had lots of fun having more kids to play with!

The more time Tim and I were together, the more I realized that Tim was someone I could really like.  Eventually, we stopped playing so much with the siblings and started going off on our own together.  We took a lot of walks up and down the road with a shortwave radio playing music (oldies) between us.

One day Tim's brother, Jeff, told me that he either heard Tim talking on his CB radio or read something Tim had written that he wanted to kiss me.  And I'll never forget that day as long as I live.  It was March 13, 1971.  We were sitting on the steps in the front of our house listening to the shortwave radio.  I could feel the electricity between us!  Our faces got closer and closer together until he landed the sweetest kiss upon my lips!  From that point on, we were a couple!  It was the second best day of my whole life, the first being the day I was saved!

Tim was already quite the gentleman.  He was already allowing me to go first through doors that he opened for me.  He did that until the days of his death.  He always made me feel like a lady, even when I wasn't acting like one!  Thank You, LORD, for sending this special man into my life, even when I didn't deserve him!

And, thank you, Jeanne and Chuck, for the wonderful man you raised to be a wonderful husband and father!


Friends
It is good to be back home and good to be back with special friends.  Carolyn came over yesterday for a ramp breakfast that Ilene fixed.  Scrambled eggs mixed with ramps and Mexican cornbread.  I did not eat the eggs.  When we lived in West Virginia, the folks at Buffalo Baptist Church tried to break us in on ramps.  We just never developed a taste for them!  If you want to know what they are, click here.

It is cool again this week!  I don't think we are ever going to enjoy a real Spring!  Everything is blooming, but it is just not warm enough to enjoy being out doors WITHOUT a jacket!  I want to shed these long sleeves and long pants!

Special friends doing what we love.......jigsaw puzzles.

Springtime blooms

Blooms in clusters.

The Wisteria is beautiful hanging in clusters from the trees in the back yard.

A daily visit from Mr. Pheasant.

This is the puzzle we began and finished yesterday.

Here's the picture from the box.  I found this brand new puzzle at the thrift shop for $0.99!

Sickness
Ilene's daughter, Rita, came down with the flu after she had been with us last weekend.  Ilene called her doctor and began taking tamiflu.  She and I already had some sort of crud we were dealing with.  But when Ilene's sounded like it might be settling in her lungs, she went to the doctor.  She tested positive for the flu, so he added another prescription to the tamiflu.  She was down for the count while I was at Elisabeth's this past weekend.  She just laid around and slept.  She ran a fever, but thankfully she didn't have it as long as Rita.  She is feeling pretty good today.  She has been hungry since yesterday.  That is a good thing!  I told her it was good to see her hungry, like it was always good for me to see Tim hungry, because it meant he was feeling good!  Thank You, Lord, for bringing Ilene through the flu with a relatively light case!

Our interim pastor, Bobby Smith, was sick over the weekend, too.  He could not attend the Sunday services.  Calvin took care of the morning services and Pastor Fred Wood preached in the evening service.  Praying Bobby is feeling better by Wednesday's prayer meeting!

Our dear sister, Dorothy, who just lost her husband at church, ended up in the hospital.  She is doing better.  Praying she is released and can go home soon!

A dear brother in the Lord, Mark Wallace, is dealing with issues with his feet and legs.  He has had surgery on both feet and will be off of them for several months.  Please pray that the operations will take care of the infection and that he will begin to heal.

Lord Father, the Great Physician, please heal these feeble bodies in accordance with Your will, and for Your glory!  I pray in the name of Your Son!


Until the next time.............may the Lord bless and keep you!