My Pearls

What I Was Thinking . . . was I have a husband who loves me. I've been with him for almost 30 years; he was my high school sweetheart. We dated for almost three years and have been married for 27 years. I don't think a day has gone by when we have not said "I love you" to each other.

Stewart has been working at the same company now for almost 29 years. Working...that's an understatement. He has put in some long hours, working both days, swing and mostly the graveyard shift his entire career. You could say that I have really put up with a lot when it came to his job. Working all the time, being tired all the time. But I know he has done this for his family and he would never want to change any of that.

His company (which is a Fortune 100 company) gives awards for your time with the company, like 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 years of service. He would get a catalog and he would be able to order something very nice for himself. In the past he has gotten a company ring from Tiffanys, a nice set of golf clubs, and other things ~ I just can't remember them all. But the reward gets nicer as your years of service is higher.

Well 25 years rolled around and I asked him several times, "Where is the catalog, shouldn't you be getting something soon?" And he kept telling me, "I haven't gotten it yet; I'll ask human resources."

To put this all in perspective for you, let me just say that at the time (as this story is now four years old) he had put in 25 years with a company that sometimes he worked 60 hours a week, he commutes at least 3 hours a day and has worked every shift and has worked weekends. So when 25 years rolled around I wanted him to get something so nice for himself, you know, like patting himself on the back for all of his hard work. I knew the rewards were probably in a pretty high price range so he could get some really, really nice for himself. Do you know what he decided to do as his reward for his 25 years of service? He ordered a string of pearls for his wife! He gave his 25 years of service reward to ME! You can only imagine what that meant to me. I don't think anything else will ever top what he did for me four years ago. I don't know if you are crying, but I am just reliving this! He is an awesome man, an awesome husband and an awesome dad to our three children. He is loved and respected by everyone who comes in contact with him.

This is the kind of man I married, a man that sacrifices for his family, and this is the kind of man I have been praying for that my daughters would marry. I want nothing less for them. That's what I was thinking.