Times Never Realized...

Today is October 1st. Not a big deal to many people. Why, in a mere 30 days, it'll be time for the "yearly beg-a-thon" aka Halloween.
But today would have been the 58th wedding anniversary of my folks. And to me, that's important for many reasons.

First off, it they hadn't gotten married 58 years ago TODAY, you most likely wouldn't be READING this blog...LOL.
Yeah, people were a lot more "old-fashioned" back then...they got married, and THEN had children...not the other way around.

Second, no matter what situation came their way, they met it head on, and with style. If Dad's work went on strike, we got by (don't ask me how). If I got sick, I got better thanks to their care. And with the hospital time I spent growing up, you'd think they'd be broke forever. Times were a lot different then. You could actually PAY OFF a child's hospital visit in YOUR OWN lifetime.

Next, they were ALWAYS there for me, whether it was to read a story to me, play catch (Mom didn't have a "candy arm" either), or even take me to the playground (this was before I was old enough for school). Amazing what you recall when it MEANS something, isn't it? And even when I attended school, they were STILL there, regardless of what was going on in THEIR lives. They would put that aside and attend to whatever problems I was having. And those wee the days when your parents actually UNDERSTOOD the subjects you were taking (like MATH and ENGLISH). Yeah, they did right by me. They may have demanded that I do my homework BEFORE I go outside to play, but it was a small price to ante up. Least I wasn't failing any subjects!
And we always had a SIT-DOWN dinner AT HOME. Eating at some restaurant wasn't the "norm", but more of a family "reward" for some obscure reason. Not to mention that MOM was a lot better cook than anyone else (sorry if my bias is showing). Luckily, I managed to glean some of her culinary skills while she was alive. I just wish I kept her recipe book...she made a MEAN-ASS Dutch apple pie! Sunday dinners were fantastic. You couldn't get better eats anywhere. Her ROAST BEEF was to DIE FOR! And although she didn't have one Italian bone on her body, she made a spaghetti sauce that bested most every other Italian family I ever knew. Not bad for a farm-raised girl from upstate Pennsy.
As for Dad...he was THE ROCK of the family (hardly missed ANY time at work), but wasn't afraid to show emotion. And nothing was too much trouble for him. He'd give 'ya the shirt off his back...that's the kind iof man he was. It was really hard to catch him in a "bad mood" (unless work was really a chore the previous night), and even then, he blew the mood off quick enough. And as long as he had his case of Schmidt's in the basement, all was fine. When he tied one on, he never EVER became belligerent. If anything, he became a better DART PLAYER...LOL! I recall a few time we both got a bit "happy", and while trying to go up the steps to the house, he told me: "Don't tell your mother we were drinking". Well, we REEKED of beer (we always drank at a local bar/restaurant, and were doing boilermakers that fine winter day), so the first thing Mom proudly proclaims (arms folded in THAT manner) as we go inside was "You two been drinking...haven't you?" At that point, Dad and I lost it and laughed for about 15 minutes!
They also had their share of arguments...hell, everyone does. They just never went to bed angry. There is the BIG difference if you want to sustain a marriage.!
Yeah, they were two of MY best friends, the best parents I would ever want, and I couldn't have loved them more if I tried, yet through the punishments (I deserved), and through all of the ups AND the downs of our life together as a family (and believe me...we had OUR share)...I wouldn't trade ONE damn moment of it for anything anywhere at any time.
I just wish they had been around a little longer, because there are ALWAYS things you wanted to tell them (again), and never got the chance. The damn shame of all this is that THEY never got a chance to grow (that) old together. Dad never reached his retirement age, and Mom was left alone for 20 years until she passed. She missed him every day of those twenty years...I know...I was there and saw it. And I miss them both to the same degree every day since they have passed.

But as long as I (and others) remember them, they will NEVER be truly gone...just absent.