230117 The Woman I Loved

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She was quite a woman, strong, yet gentle at times.

She could get dressed up and make me proud to take her anywhere.

She wasn’t afraid of hard work. We both worked in town and then worked until the sun went down on the farm in the early years there. We would go to bed for the night, get up the next morning and start all over again. We spent our whole first summer on the farm cutting and clearing thorn trees to cut a path back to the end of the property.

She was the ultimate mother.

She was the best cook on the planet.

She was a wonderful lover, but those pictures are only in my mind and you don’t get to see them.

I can’t count how many times people told me that I married up above my level. I knew that and never took offense because it was true. I did not deserve her, but I hit the jackpot when I married her.
We had a tremendous number of guests at parties she planned and prepared food for when we were in the navy and on the farm. They came the first time for me, but they came back for her. She was always kind to everyone she met. During our casino days, card dealers loved her, but tolerated me. We would drive to the casinos we liked, I would head for the card tables while she would head for the restroom first. Inevitably the dealers at the card tables first words were, “Where’s Joyce,” not hey Bill, but “Where’s Joyce.”
I’m grateful for the time I had with her. I dated others before meeting her and I can safely say, not one of them could hold a candle to Joyce or would have stood by me for very long. She made my life worth living and that is why I still miss her so much. I thank God every day for bringing her into my life.