And so it goes...

Before they even met, there was a connection. Dad's co-workers in the warehouse where he'd worked before the army got together to write him letters from home. Mom, being the new girl, was asked if she'd like to add a note, which she did.

When he returned home in 1947, they noticed one another, but from a distance. Daddy began riding his motorcycle to work, and Mother, loving the feeling of freedom and flight was charmed by the two-wheeled cycle. He promised her a ride as soon as he got his buddy seat and it wasn't long before it was a ride built for two: a match meant to be. It may not have been love at first sight....but it was certainly love.

Dad decided to go to Kansas City to an automotive trade school in January of 1948. Most weekends he would return home to visit Mom and their relationship continued to grow. It would be September before he returned to Wichita for good, but in July of that year, he went to Peacock Jewelry Store on Douglas Street and in my Mother's basement apartment, gave her a ring.

There was no bended knee, as he explained, and no formal question posed, but it was understood between them that this was the road they were intended to take; a road that has led them through 60 years of blessings.

On that New Year's Day back in 1949, they took vows that began the rest of their lives, and set the stage for what was the beginning of mine....