Hello to all! I hope each one of you are having a really good day and enjoying our beautiful weather.

As I do every year at this time, I honor the memory of the amazing man I married when I was just 18 years old. The months of April and May are both sweet and bittersweet for me!

For most of us we each have had great happiness, but also many of us have had some heartache in our lives as the years have gone by. Whether it be a loved one having problems, a loved one suffering an illness, or us losing someone dear to our heart … sometimes just the worry and fear we face every day is heartbreaking on its own. Whatever your situation is, please keep believing we are truly served by a mighty God!

This week I would like to share a great blessing I received during the fall of my senior year of high school. As a fun-loving, happy-go-lucky young woman, I didn’t realize at the time I should stop and count my blessings.

Now, at 71 years old, I count my blessings every day, no matter what my circumstances are.

It was in the fall of 1968 while cruising with my high school girl friends that I met the most handsome young man While cruising, he and his buddies pulled up beside us and asked us to race ... oh gosh, that didn’t go anywhere, especially when you consider the cars we were driving; his was a gorgeous souped up black Chevy ... ours was not a souped up Chevy. I won’t name the make or year; let’s just say it had been handed down for many generations. Still we were thankful for our ride ... we were cruising!

Obviously the race was not much of a race but that night I met the most handsome and caring young man; he was the driver of that souped up Chevy! Not only was he very handsome and so very nice, I thought that souped up black Chevy was the coolest car I had ever got to go for a ride in. Yep, he asked if I wanted to ride in the front seat with him. His buddy had to jump in the back seat for the rest of the cruise! I was 17, he was 18, he had just started college, had a job, was so handsome, so nice and had a really cool car ... I was definitely in love! He made me feel very special that night, just as he would the rest of our years together.

I met my handsome Richard in the fall ... we were engaged at Christmastime in 1968. In January 1969, I turned eighteen and in April he turned 19. I was taking care of my grandpa, who wasn’t well and was not expected to live much longer. With the Vietnam War raging and the draft calling our boys up every day, the future was very uncertain. We were married with our parents blessing on May 4, 1969.

Wednesday, May 4, 2022, would have been our 53rd wedding anniversary. It would have been a happy, happy day for sure!

My life has been blessed. Richard made me feel special for 47 years on this earth ... even in Heaven he is still making me feel special and taking care of our family. I count my blessings every day!

Thank you to each and every one of you who take the time to read this column each week. I especially appreciate your patience with me this week in allowing me to once more share my love for this amazing man!

In Loving Memory of my Beloved Husband:

Richard N. Mullins, April 23, 1950 – May 14, 2016 ... in God’s Loving Care.

As always, our family would like to send a very heartfelt “Thank You” to our amazing First Responders who tried so hard that day in May 2016.