Category Archives: Outdoor world

Newlywed Love (#47)

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March 25, 1970

About this time, it seemed like the whole world was getting away during spring break, traveling to exotic places like Florida, Arizona, or California. Nate and I had both enjoyed traveling during our undergrad years, but these days as we struggled to support ourselves, taking a trip was out of the question. We were lucky to get through a week without a hot-dogs-and-beans supper.

ThinkingOne chilly spring evening we lit a fire and sat in front of it dreaming aloud about what might be the perfect vacation. Nate mentioned the Virgin Islands, knowing how much I loved beaches. Our conversational fantasies drifted to different areas of the country including Hawaii, then across the ocean to Europe and of course Russia, since Nate had learned to speak Russian in college.

 

He said, “If you could visit any country in the world, which would it be?”

That was easy. “Italy,” I said, “because of all the glass factories in and around Venice!” He laughed and talked about his dream to travel all over Europe so he could see first hand where the history in his text books had taken place. But finally we had to set aside our verbal travelogue and face the facts: During spring break of 1970, we were going nowhere.

If we had to stay in Champaign, though, we decided to be deliberate about having a good time. Friends came over to share meals, or sometimes just dessert and coffee. One evening several of us wrote a primitive script and made a movie complete with subtitles. (Super 8 cameras had no sound.)

Sponge candy.Another night we made “sponge candy” with our friends Cathy and John, and Nate liked it so much he made a second batch all by himself.

We went out to eat with friends and saw a movie. And as our downstairs neighbors Fred and Alice arrived back from a winter in Florida, we took brownies to their apartment to welcome them home.

 

At AllertonThough the weather was cool, we drove to the Allerton mansion, packing a picnic, a thermos of hot coffee, and reading material. It was heavenly whiling away the afternoon on a blanket where both of us slept for 2 hours — unmindful of other visitors walking past.

Toward the end of the week, a surprise snowfall invited us outdoors to have a mini-snowball fight, after which we warmed ourselves with Russian spiced tea by the fireplace.

Last snowballsAnd of course we frolicked around the apartment “in a carefree manner,” enjoying our free time and each other.

As vacation week ended, we agreed it had been delightful, as good a spring break as any. And the grand finale’ was a one-day turn-around drive to Wilmette and back to share Easter Sunday with Mom, Dad, Mary, Bervin, the aunties, and brother Tom.

“The Lord…. restores my soul.” (Psalm 23:3)

Newlywed Love (#40)

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March 12, 1970

Nate loved to touch soft things – a newborn’s cheek, a silk scarf, a kitten’s fur. He also loved touching ear lobes, mine in particular. Often as we talked he’d reach over and gently brush my ear without even realizing he was doing it.

Pussy willowsAs a little boy, Nate had discovered pussy willow branches and told me he’d been fascinated by their soft grey buds (or “catkins”) in early spring. His Uncle Bob had interested him further by telling him if he put some catkins into a saucer of milk, each one would grow into a little kitty.

Of course the young Nathan tried it, but all he learned was not to believe everything that came out of Uncle Bob’s mouth.

I knew of Nate’s interest in pussy willows and one day in March decided to buy a single branch, just for him. The long stem was loaded with fluffy buds, each one super-soft.

Pussy willow catkinsThe next morning, he was still asleep when I left for school, having burned the midnight oil over law books the previous night. Before I left, I set out a box of cereal, bowl, spoon, and some milk, placing the pussy willow branch across the bowl as a special surprise.

When I returned from a day of teaching, I found a sweet note he’d written that made reference to John and Cathy’s cat, Jeanette. He had taped a few pussy willow buds to the card:

“Are these little Jeanette’s paws? How did these little pussycat feet get in Big Bear’s porridge? Hmmm?”

NoteApparently a couple of the soft catkins had dropped into his bowl before he’d seen it that morning, prompting his comment.

I loved knowing my busy husband took time out to write me a silly note, acknowledging my gift. And I was pleased he was gentle enough to enjoy touching soft things. Maybe that was because he had told me the softest thing in all the world, even softer than a pussy willow bud…. was me.

“Pursue…. gentleness.” (1 Timothy 6:11)

Newlywed Love (#35)

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February 20, 1970

It was a treat to drive the “new” Mustang to school with Judy and Linda. Judy drove one week, and I drove the next. Our car was performing well and had a comfortable ride. Roads continued to be a problem, though, with lots of winter snow, and at the end of each day, we were thankful for no mishaps.

Icy.What neither Linda nor I knew, however, was how stressful the driving was for Judy, someone who was raised in Hawaii and had no experience driving on snowy highways. She didn’t have a natural sense of caution in slippery conditions and had never been in a spin or a slide.

 

Our 40 mile trip from Champaign to Danville each day was mostly driven at high speeds on I-74, a well-traveled expressway. And with such a snowy winter, it was inevitable we’d one day have an incident — which we did.

It was early morning, and the three of us were on our way to school. Judy was driving when we hit a bad patch of ice, causing the car to start a spin. It went all the way around and then some, finally coming to a stop – in the middle of I-74 facing oncoming traffic.

Icy road safetyThis was a moment of panic, especially for poor Judy, but God was watching over us. A businessman motoring behind us pulled to the shoulder, wanting to help. Apparently he had witnessed our spin and realized we were still in danger. He got out of his car and directed Judy as she worked to turn her car around on the ice and move out of harm’s way.

Thankfully it was early morning, and traffic was light. Our good Samaritan watched for cars, putting himself at risk, and made sure we were all ok before continuing on his own commute.

When we had sufficiently recovered, I asked Judy if she wanted me to drive the rest of the way to school. She was relieved, and accepted the offer.

Having driven in many Illinois winters, I had plenty of ice-and-snow experience, along with a few of my own spin-outs. But doing a 360+ on this treacherous highway had been sobering for me, too, so I proceeded with caution.

After the school day, when I arrived home and told Nate of our “adventure,” he responded with fatherly concern for our safety and offered to drive us to school after that. But of course such a favor was unworkable. I did appreciate his protective response, though.

Love.“If anything happened to you,” he said, “I don’t think I could go on.” And sitting together that evening turned out to be extra special. I was twice-warmed…. from the glow of our fireplace and the warmth of Nate’s love.

“He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.” (Proverbs 18:22)