Ink On Paper (Love Letters)
Posted: Sunday, January 22, 2012
by David Pekrul
On February 05, 2012 my wife, Linda, and I celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary. Where has the time gone?! It has been an interesting and wonderful 40 years; sometimes sad, sometimes happy, most times challenging, but always fulfilling.
Linda and I dated for two years prior to getting married. At the time, I lived in a small town outside Vancouver, British Columbia. Linda lived in a small town outside Portland, Oregon. Because there was a distance between us of over 300 miles, we didn't see each other as often as we would have liked. In the 1970's long-distant phone calls were expensive, so we wrote letters on a daily basis.
As I started to read the letters, the emotions that welled up inside me were almost too much for me to bear. I laughed, I cried, and I remembered.
I am now in the process of writing a book, a history of our courtship as it were. Using snippets of each letter I am now reconstructing a chronological timetable of events, complete with all the love we shared, the loneliness we felt when separated, and the excitement we felt when together.
Those two years were difficult, as you can imagine. We were young and in love, but due the distance that separated us, we were only able to be together every third weekend or so. It challenged our patience and it challenged our devotion to each other, but we survived and were made stronger because of it.
Now we look back and are so thankful. God has been good. We have been married for 40 years. We have two wonderful children who are also married, and we have two of the cutest granddaughters that God ever made. And best of all, we have a complete written history of our courtship. How many people can say that?
Ink On Paper (Love Letters)
It was only ink on paper, but I couldn't let it go,
It was many years of mem'ries as I read and cried alone,
Only words upon the paper, only marks upon the page,
How it all would end was really hard to gauge.
I read ev'ry letter slowly from a girl so long ago,
And emotions welled inside me for I wanted her to know,
That my love was strong as ever since the day we first had met,
If it's reached the top, I haven't seen it yet.
She used words of great endearment, many words so very sweet,
And the way that I was feeling made my world seem so complete,
She was once a far off stranger who was showing me her love,
But I see her now as blessings from above.
Many years are in the pages, many mem'ries sad and good,
But I cherish each and ev'ry, for it ended as it should,
Now she lives right here beside me, so her presence I won't miss,
And we seal each precious moment with a kiss.
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Top-level comments on this article: (4 total)congratulations. our 40th was 1/22.And congratulations to you Jack.
Congratulations! Many folks after 40 years are simply roommates. It is wonderful to see a couple still in love!Thanks Liesl. The time sure has gone by fast.
Beautiful! Can't wait to see the book!!!Thanks Marijo. I don't think I'll be publishing a book for the public. I want to get three copies hardbound; one for my wife and I and one for each of the kids. I didn't realize how emotional it would be to compile snippets out of each letter.Enjoy the memories of God's faithfulness!!!
David,
How touching. And, how lucky you both are. I wish you many more years of sharing and caring and loving.I told my wife I want another 40 years with her. That would only make us 100 years young!
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