An Extraordinary Blessing

by Fawn

Last week, I received an extraordinary blessing. I was invited to a surprise birthday dinner for a co worker’s 50th. We met at a Mexican restaurant where her husband bought all the guests dinner. I was greeted at the table by a lovely young woman, her grown daughter. She had set up the tables with vases of daisies and birthday decorations. She and her young husband had helped set up the surprise.

The birthday gal came in last to discover friends and family there to celebrate her big day. She thanked her daughter and “Loverboy” for the wonderful surprise. At work she only refers to her husband as Loverboy and most everyone does not even know his name. I have always, until last night, sort of smiled or rolled my eyes at the pet name she has for her husband of 29 years.

Lovergirl is a fun and adventurous woman but a hard worker. She is a full time RN and also runs two elderly/disabled care homes. In fact after a 12 hours shift yesterday, and before she found out about the dinner party, she went straight to the emergency room to check on a 95 year old man who was ill and needed to be admitted. Long hours of caring for others is very typical for her.

So anyway, Loverboy, Lovergirl, beautiful young daughter and husband, sat across from me at the restaurant. I said something like, “Loverboy, that’s really sweet. I don’t think any of us actually know his name”.

That’s when her daughter spoke up and said, “All of my life growing up, I have never heard them call each other anything else. I didn’t know their given names until I was older and heard them telling other people. They were my example. I wanted a relationship like theirs one day. I met my husband in 4th grade and we went through high school orchestra together, both of us played the viola. When we went to Germany to play with the HS orchestra there, my parents saved money for a year so mom could be our chaperone. She was the best chaperone ever. And when Danny asked me to marry him, mom said, ‘If you marry him he will treat you like the Queen you are. And she was right.”

The young woman and her husband were beaming, best friends, obviously deeply in love.  I was now looking at this family with brand new eyes.

Then, Loverboy proposed a toast to his wife, and gave a speech from his heart and soul in honor of Lovergirl.

Last, we all watched her open her gifts. My gift was witnessing this rare, lasting, healing marriage, full of respect and mutual honor – and most lovely, the product of such devotion, their daughter and son in law.

Honestly, it’s stunning to hear a grown married child say she has never heard her parents call each other any name other than Loverboy and Lovergirl. It’s the kind of mind bending concept that I feel when thinking of how many stars there are in outer space.

I will not be rolling my eyes again.

(¯` ´¯). *
`*.¸.* ´* peace * ´¯`•.¸¸. Love

                          ~  Fawn