Saturday, May 14, 2011

A Last Prom with My High School Sweetheart

Jim & Sally
Prom 1961
My husband was my high school sweetheart.  Some of you may recall the post I wrote in March about our first date.  From the first time I ever met this guy, I knew he was a very special person.  His kindness, steadiness, sense of humor, leadership, and character were very apparent even when he was a young man.  I fell madly in love with him, my very first boyfriend,  when I was only sixteen years old.  I was only a sophomore in high school and he was senior back when this photo was taken.  Age didn't stop him from asking me to marry him on the day he graduated from high school.  Because he had the goal of going to college to be a teacher, he didn't plan on marriage until after college, but he wanted me to know that I was the one with whom he wanted to spend his life.

Not long after this first marriage proposal of sorts,  we were separated by family pressures, moves, and college attendance in different states.  Despite these distances and distractions, my dear high school sweetheart maintained that we were destined for each other and should get married someday.  After he finished college, when I was still in college, he came to visit me and once again proposed marriage.  I was really not interested in marrying anyone at the time.  I remember him telling me that he would get a teaching job that would pay him about $4000 a year.  That was tempting, but no, I really wasn't ready for marriage.

A few years later, I became engaged to my former husband.  I wrote Jim, my high school sweetheart, to tell him I was getting married.  At the time, we were living in the same state.  He called me and asked if he could come to see me and take me to dinner.  My fiance' didn't have a problem with that, so Jim drove from Provo, Utah to Ogden, Utah to take me to dinner three days before I married my first husband.  Jim listened to me tell him about my new guy and all about our plans.  Then, he said, "Sally, you are making a big mistake.  You are supposed to marry me.  I'm asking you again, Will you marry me?"  I told him I would always care deeply about him, but that I was not changing my plans.  I planned on marrying someone else.

Fast forward thirty years:  I had been divorced for ten years and living in Colorado Springs.  Jim, just recently divorced and living in Pueblo, called me asked me to lunch.  The years seemed to literally fall away when we first re-connected.  Within just a few months, he again asked me to marry him.  This time, I was smart enough to say, "Yes." Six months later, on June 12, 1992, we were married.

This year, exactly fifty years after our first prom date, we attended what will no doubt be our last prom together.  Serving as an administrator, after coming out of retirement for six months, at a school district near Colorado Springs, meant that my husband again had prom duty.

Since the prom was being held at the beautiful Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs, he booked us a room there.  He was even able to get a good deal on our wonderful room because he was chaperoning the prom!  The room was in Dove Lodge, which I thought was just ironic since my friend Dove introduced us so many year ago before our first prom.

The main lodge was located across the courtyard from our lodge.  Another prom was held right outside our room.  That was really quite cool.




Before the prom, we had dinner together in the main lodge.  We made sure we had our picture snapped to record the momentous occasion.

Jim & Sally
Prom 2011
Fifty Years After Our First Prom
Still Sweethearts
Jim & Sally 2011



After the prom, sitting on the deck outside our room, I took some time to write about the event in my journal.



While writing, I turned to my husband and said, "I am one lucky lady.  Not, only am I married to the kindest, sweetest, most supportive, compassionate, and thoughtful man I know, but I am also married to someone who makes me feel sixteen again."  Last year at this time, we were on a cruise.  I told him that I would rather spend my time surrounded by youth, full of life and hope, than surrounded by old retired folks at a cruise best dress affair.  Being with teenagers has a way of keeping one engaged in life, hopeful for the future, and happy.  My heart and soul were truly uplifted that night.  Mother's Day Eve was a happy and healing time for me.  For that, I am grateful.  

I am also grateful for my dear, wonderful sweetheart.  His enthusiasm for life, and for his profession, has meant that he has stayed young in spirit and positive in his outlook on life.  He believes in giving back.  He believes in mentoring others to become good educators. He believes in the youth of our nation, and he loves being involved with them.  He has made good on his life goals that he expressed to me on the night of his high school graduation:  he became a teacher, and he married me.

He has been the best husband in the world for me.  I don't know what I would do without him.   I adore him.  My children and grandchildren adore him.  I am thankful I got things right when I married him. 

 Jim, this song is for you.  XO


37 comments:

  1. Absolutely wonderful. I loved hearing about how life and love twisted back to offer you both a 'second time around.' As sweet at you two looked back in the day -- I love the second Prom photo. You both look so wonderful and happy and cute together...when every day is spent with the partner you love you really do feel you can handle anything....congratulations.

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  2. I love this post! It is so romantic. True love never ever dies. What a loving sweet man you have there! He never gave up!
    "He has made good on his life goals that he expressed to me on the night of his high school graduation: he became a teacher, and he married me." <--I simply love this! ( have I written the word "love" too much here?) I can't help it this is such a great LOVE story! Blessings, Joanne

    ps. I just LOVE your prom dress!

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  3. Ohhh, what a lovely story! Sometimes you just can't deny what is meant to be, can you?

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  4. Wow, what a story! There should be some kind of award for a guy like that ... and you too!

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  5. I love this post! True love is awesome. I am so glad you and your Jim got together at long last.

    I knew the first minute I met my Jim that we would marry and lucky for me, he felt the same way.

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  6. Some people are just meant to be together!!

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  7. This is such a lovely story, Sally. Obviously you two belonged together, and Jim was smart enough not to give up! Your pictures say it all...

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  8. You look and sound really happy! A supportive spouse is one of life's great gifts.

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  9. Oh Sally, I LOVE LOVE LOVE this post.... Things always work out the way they are meant to... For you two, it just took a detour in the road.

    Our 'story' is similar --although we didn't know each other in high school. We were both teachers --and ours is a 2nd marriage also. IF you want to read 'my' story of meeting the love of my life at age 59, go to my blog, to the sidebar, scroll down to my labels and click on "My Story"... There are two posts --so read the 2nd one first....

    Thanks so much for sharing your love story... God has blessed both you and me.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  10. It's great, isn't it, when things work out the way they were always meant to be. Congratulations on doing it right.

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  11. I just love it when first loves reunite. Just a beautiful story and you two still look great together.
    Hum, I wonder what ever happened to ----

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  12. This is so romantic and you are so fortunate to have such a great love in your love--also fortunate to know it and be grateful. All the best.

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  13. Thank you for marrying such a wonderful man. He's a treasure to everyone in our family.

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  14. What an incredible love story!!!

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  15. OH MY GOSH, Sally! This is such an incredible post. What an amazing feeling to know Jim has always loved you and knew it from the start. This is such a lovely way for me to start my day. I'm going down now to tell my husband about your story. It's so beautiful... sigh...

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  16. This is such a wonderful story! A real life love story :-) Glad you were reunited with each other again after all those years and were able to carry on the journey together...

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  17. Oh, Sally, I love this story! And I love getting to see pictures of both the first and last proms. Clearly you are living a love story of miraculous proportions - one you both deserve. I'm so glad you shared this story. You're so lovely together.

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  18. Oh, Sally, what a beautiful tribute to Jim. I love your love story! Thanks for sharing this with us, and may you get lucky enough to chaperon a few more of those proms. I like what you wrote about being around the young keeps our minds open and thinking young. Sounds like you sure do have a keeper.

    God bless,

    Kathy M.

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  19. What a wonderful love story, Sally! And how fantastic you both got a second chance at true love! There is something very special about a relationship that springs from youth. My cousin Caron and her husband Buddy met as high school freshmen and married soon after graduation. They have shared so many happy years together and the songs of their youth are some of their special songs as a couple. That's rare enough. But to have that kind of love, lose each other and then find each other again is just so beautiful. May you and Jim have many more lovely years and experiences.

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  20. What a beautiful story! What's meant to be is meant to be as is obvious from your wonderful post. You and I seem to be along the same wave length, I just posted about my marriage today, as Deb pointed out. Congratulations, this was beautiful !

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  21. Great story. When I was a high school administrator I always volunteered for prom. I loved seeing the kids all dressed up and usually on their best behavior.

    By the way, your 1961 prom dress is timeless. I think you could wear the same style today.

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  22. omg what an amazing story to come full circle. how beautiful

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  23. I love a good story with a happy ending!

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  24. Oh wow!!! This is so romantic!! You make me think of the boy I turned down right when I met my husband. He never married I heard because he loved me--but in my case, I'm still with the one. Glad you finally got yours!

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  25. Let me gush- what a great love story! I so appreciate hearing of great married lovers. Good for you, good for Jim, good for LOVE! And thanks for sharing with us, your readers.

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  26. what a beautiful story. so glad to be here :)

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  27. That you have a darling at your side has come across in previous posts. What I love in this post is that you give the youth such a greatly deserved positive image. I'm so happy to hear that you both enjoy being with the youth because it is full of hope. YEAH!!!

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  28. What a great post. Glad you guys rediscovered each other.
    Prom looks great and what a great place to stay.
    How is the zoo there? I have not been in MANY years. Is it nice or run down?

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  29. What a beautiful post!! God bless you!

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  30. Hello Sally,
    What a lovely story and so romantic, I too, prefer the company of young people rather than 'oldies', which is laughable really because, I like you, am retired.
    I would much rather go on a holiday with my family, perhaps to a seaside rental, or even Disney World, than sit with a group of 'oldies', playing Bridge os similar!
    I just love your writings and will be back later to dijest more.

    Di.x

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  31. That's a great post. Very romantic. We've done 29 years (did I make that sound like a prison sentence?!!!)

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  32. This is a wonderful love story. It's great that your first love finally became your last and true love.

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  33. A great story, Sally! Persistence works! You two do like like Sweethearts.

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  34. Sally, I read a lot of blogs and I read a lot of good true stories that touch my heart, make me smile or move me to tears. This one goes to the head of the class. It certainly reminds us that some things are meant to be and we can work around them, avoid them, think we know better -- but in the end, they fall into place. How wonderful and how very happy I am for you both.

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  35. What an incredibly beautiful story! I just love reading stories like this where two people end up together regardless of what life tosses at them. So glad you both had a fantastic time at the prom 2011!

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  36. Hi Retired English Teacher! I've followed you because that's what I am, except I'm still tutoring English privately to support my travel habit!

    This is the sweetest story. Now I want to write a Mills & Boon about you both! So inspirational.

    Lovely to meet you. Looking forward to further posts.

    Denise<3

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  37. This is such a wonderful......Happy Ever After story!

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