Newlywed Love (#72)

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June 27, 1970

Nate and I had had 2 rough weeks experiencing the stress of no income and summer school/student teaching adjustments for me. When Saturday finally came, we decided to escape from it all – just for a few hours.

The sunny, warm weather invited us out to play, so we packed a picnic and drove the half-hour to Allerton Park. Though we weren’t sure about dogs being allowed, we took Baron along anyway. He had never failed to win the hearts of everyone he met.

Allerton, one areaAllerton Park has been described as “a vast prairie turned into a personal fantasy land of neoclassical statues, Far Eastern art, and huge European-style gardens surrounding a Georgian Revival mansion.” *

We had explored the estate’s 1500 acres enough to know how not to get lost, and loved the surprises hidden on the grounds. Just when we thought we’d seen every piece of sculpture, each garden, and all the unique oddities on the property, we would come across something new.

Allerton..

Allerton factored into Nate’s and my relationship almost from the start. It was a peaceful place where two people in love could spend time together, whether walking through dense woods or on manicured paths. We had our first serious talk about our relationship on one of those walks, and on another one, explored the possibility of marriage for the first time.

The manor house was gorgeous, and we wondered aloud what it must have been like to live in such a place. The owner, Robert Allerton, had many homes and owned one of the largest Chicago hotels, so when he didn’t need this one anymore, he donated it to the University of Illinois for retreats and study.

Allerton_House(Photo credit: D Finnigan – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18609642)

On this day, feeling depleted, Nate and I were looking for privacy and carried our blanket, picnic supplies, and doggie a long way from the mansion. We were looking for a giant meadow that had a dense forest on the other side of it, because we knew that deep within it was a secluded sunny patch of ground.

After spreading our blanket there, we stretched out on it and snuggled close, with Baron between us. The security of giant trees on all sides with an open sky above was the perfect hideaway from all of life’s woes.

Almost immediately the 3 of us fell sound asleep. When I awoke an hour later, Nate was still lying next to me but was up on one elbow, staring at my me. I smiled back and felt completely enfolded in his love. The problems of our week had evaporated, and no getaway ever meant more.

BaronWe shared our simple picnic, took turns reading aloud to each other, and had some intimate conversation about life and love. We also took time to admire our handsome puppy.

The therapeutic benefits from this one day would last a long, long time.

“May the Lord give strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with peace!” (Psalm 29:11)

* Wikipedia

Newlywed Love (#71)

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June 22-26, 1970

After returning to Champaign from Wilmette and unloading the rental van well after midnight, Monday morning came with a bang. Nate returned to the Union parking lot, hoping for a day job, and I stood in long lines registering for summer school.

Pots and pansTuesday brought another job strike-out for Nate, so he signed up for something new. Bouncing through the apartment door, he told me he was going to be a salesman! When I asked “of what?” he said, “Pots and pans – selling them door-to-door.” I had a bad feeling about this but didn’t say so, telling him we would celebrate big-time when he made his first sale.

Tuesday for me included a phone conversation confirming I would be student teaching in a 2nd grade classroom under a teacher who didn’t have as much experience as I did. But I also learned that a friend from Danville would be in my afternoon seminars, a little light in a dark situation. Heavy on my mind, though, was my inability to make any money the whole summer.

2nd gradeOn Wednesday I received the 2nd grade curriculum and my student teaching assignments. Optimism faded when I realized how time-intensive it was going to be. Meanwhile, Nate was doing his best to make his first sale of pots and pans… at $350 a set. [$2100 today] No wonder he wasn’t having any luck.

On Thursday Nate kept up his cold-calling, and I met a classroom-full of students. I also tried to make friends with my co-teacher but could tell she didn’t want me there. Even my steady attempts at humor fell flat. In my journal that night I wrote, Student teaching has me racked already, and I hate it – the seminars, too.

By Friday, Nate and I were both down in the dumps once again, wondering how we would ever live through the summer. But we tried to do for each other what my folks had done for us the weekend before – encourage and nourish. Though I knew Nate was no salesman, I cheered him on: “It’ll happen next week for sure!” He did the same for me: “Only 8 more weeks, Meg. I know you can do it!”

Fellow sufferersThat night, at the end of a hard week, we invited friends Cathy and John over for watermelon at 10:30 and felt much better afterwards. They were having some of their own struggles, and misery loves company.

But best of all was the note I found at the end of that long week: Dearest Meg. Thank you for your warm and affectionate noontime reminder to me. I’ll love you forever.

Nate's noteAnd I knew no matter how hard things got, by the end of the summer, our love for each other would still be strong.

“I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13)

Newlywed Love (#70)

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June 20, 1970

Mom has always been good at lifting the downhearted, and she proved it again when Nate and I arrived in Wilmette. After a difficult week and a miserable drive in an old, beat-up rented van, we walked into my folks’ house feeling deeply discouraged.

Toast and tea.Mom and Dad were watching the ten-o’clock news, each with a TV tray next to their favorite chairs. On the trays was the nightly snack they’d shared every evening for as long as I could remember: buttered toast with cheese, a piece of fruit, and a cup of tea.

Walking into this peaceful scene made our lives, by comparison, seem like they were in shambles – lack of income, sky-high bills, no work for Nate, unexpected summer school for me, the Army breathing down our necks, and a slew of life-shaping decisions looming.

Mom popped out of her chair when we saw us, welcoming us and lovingly taking Baron from my arms. “Sit down, you two,” she said. “I’ll make some more toast.”

By the end of the newscast, both of us were feeling better, nourished by kindness and good food. “How was the drive?” Mom said. Nate and I regaled them with van-stories that no longer seemed upsetting… only laughable.

“We practically had to push it ourselves to get it here without overheating,” I said.

“I guess,” Nate added, “that’s why the company’s called U-DO-IT.”

As we adjourned for bed, Dad said to Nate, “What do I owe you for the van rental?” And we were thankful he remembered.

Breakfast in 1140 yardWhen we came out the next morning, Mom had breakfast set up in the yard. Our backdrop was her clean laundry flapping on a clothesline like festive flags. She was practicing what she’d always preached: “Hang your wash out to dry, and your whole house will smell sweet.”

We ate our fill while Mom told us how eager they were to make little Baron part of their household routine (as she intermittently slipped him bits of ham and eggs). Nate and I knew they would treat him royally, and it would solve the problem of breaking our landlord’s rules.

Mom and BaronBrother Tom, home from American University for the summer, was driving for a limousine service. (“The pay isn’t great, but the job is fun.”) He arrived home just in time to help us load the van with the “treasures” Mom and Dad had collected for our apartment.

As we drove away – after dark, for the benefit of the van’s engine – our smiles were genuine.

 

The Baron and bone

 

Part of the reason was the decision not to part with Baron after all. We just loved him too much to let him go. So he was safely in my arms as I knelt on the hard van floor waving goodbye to my parents.

Something Dad said as we were leaving was pretty special, too. “I’m glad you’re furthering your education this summer. More knowledge can never hurt you. And paying for it is my job, so send all your tuition bills to me.”

“God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7)