Relationship Writing Challenge

For April 2023

Special appreciation to Susie Winfield that created this challenge.

Margaret is ten years my junior. She had been married twice and divorced twice before she was twenty-one. For most of her life, she had lived the red-headed wild ride from day — to — day. At age thirty-eight, she had been divorced for some time. She also had no children. Why marry me?

We met on a blind date. At first, I refused to consider a blind date. The chap that introduced us said to me, “Did I mention she’s a redhead?” I turned on my heels and said, “What day, what time, and where?” You see, I first saw my wife in a dream I had when I was five years old. My mom said, “Honey, it was just a dream, don’t think about it again.” I didn’t, but every time I met a woman of interest, she was a redhead. Every woman I dated (except my first wife) was a redhead.

I was surprised and disappointed that the woman I first married was not a redhead. It was a mistake that lasted almost twenty-six years when it ended abruptly. I was so down and disappointed with life when I met my second wife that I accepted her Auburn (kind of) hair. I woke up, and we agreed to an annulment.

My current wife of twenty-nine years (October 1st and 25th of 2023) is the woman I saw in my dreams those many years ago. She was and is perfect.

After a few short weeks, we decided that we could go to the Justice of the Peace in Las Vegas on a Friday night and be back home on Saturday to have lunch at one of our favorite restaurants. No one knew. We kept it a secret for years. We never celebrated the 1st of October until my wife’s parents passed. It was in their home where the picture was taken and where we were married again in front of her family and mine.

How special could she be?

From the first hour we met, she understood that I was the father of six. Two of them were still underage, and I was paying a lot for the joy of being a father. She, on the other hand, had never had children or even step-children. Mine were three boys and three girls. The boys towered over her. She towered over the girls.

Our first year was what everyone had predicted until one night, it all came to a head. The kids had left, and we were alone, snuggling on the couch. She said, “They are going to come between us, aren’t they?”

I said, “No, they won’t, and here’s why.”

I explained that she and I are a team. As long as we acted and worked together as a team, no one could beat us at home, away, at work, or any other place. We will always be “The Team.”

With the exception of a couple of small failures a few days after we began, we always won. By the time we’d been married a year, the kids were referring to her as the bonus MOM. She was and is so much more than that.

Margaret is the love of my life. I used to wish that I had met her so many years before. We both realize that it was necessary for us to go through all that we did before we were married. Without it, we might not have ever met. WE ARE SO GRATEFUL.

Here is Susie’s Original challenge. There’s still time. Let’s hear from you.

Here’s a story I wrote on a subject critical to a solid marriage:

If you’re reading this and feel your marriage is at an end, consider this advice: