Saturday
Today was the day…
I did a bit of cleaning in one of the units. It was quite fun to do – to get it back up to scratch. While there, I saw this old chair. Oh wow. It has some history. While it is pretty grubby and beaten up, is very wobbly and may be dangerous to sit on, it bought back a very warm and fuzzy memory.
When Mike and I first met and started dating, he had this chair. It was nicely made, solid and upholstered in a brown patchwork-pattern fabric. I liked it. He said to me, ‘what do think of this chair?’ Unbeknown to me, it was a test question. I replied I thought it was great. I liked it. Then he told me, “I made it!” “What!?” Coming from a home where you bought furniture from stores and paid people to do maintenance, hearing Mike made a chair, just about made Mike a magician! I was so impressed and clearly expressed my admiration in glowing terms.
I passed the test.
“C didn’t like it,” he said.
I couldn’t believe it. This girl he had been seeing a couple of years previously, when the chair was made, didn’t like it. I couldn’t get my head around that.
And so the chair came into our lives. It was Mike’s plan to make 4, but I think he made 2 and this one was has survived 37 years. I was telling Courage the story when Mike came down the stairs. He looked at its ricketiness and concurred it needs to be painted and reinforced, but that certainly doesn’t need to be done at the moment. There are other priorities.
I feel rich having this chair. It represents a lifetime with us. It reminds me of my first admiration of my husband’s ability to make stuff. Little did I know just how much he could make. The last day of July today. August – our wedding month – begins tomorrow. A week on Monday it’s 35 years. It’s a big anniversary for us because, suddenly, we have arrived at the number that makes Mike married for as long as he was single and with the uncertainty of life, we will celebrate every milestone. 
We went to the beach this morning. It was a lovely morning with the sun warming us after the swim. The sea was calmer than yesterday and swimming conditions were good. I swam out to the barrel as the stand-up paddlers came by. Refreshing and invigorating.
After cleaning, Mike and I took a drive to buy a few things for the house. We had a profitable trip.
Now it’s time for burgers.
Acts 17:27-28
God is not far from any one of us. For in Him we live and move and exist.
Such great verses.
The best is yet to come – we are only passing through.
Keep the smile going.
God bless you.
In His Grip,
Helga xx 🙂