2015 May 9 -A Love Expressed Part II

Thank you Mark for helping me make this overdue change to the blog.  The new title was suggested  teasingly by him and I  instantly liked it because it is an ongoing joke in our family- and was when Leland was still with us. He would like it, as my glasses are the subject of at least one treasure hunt every single day!

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A Love Expressed Part II

  Leland graduated from Columbia Adventist Academy in June of 1965. I elected not  to return, partly for financial reasons, but mostly because I wanted the freedom to see my Sweetheart whenever it was possible for us to be together, as we lived 150 miles apart with our parents. I enrolled in night school, while working full time at United Medical Laboratories.  Leland worked with his Dad and brother in the woods, hoping to go to Walla Walla College and take electronics.  However, he was drafted in December of that same year, 1965, and left on the 8th of December.  He was drafted as a non-combatant and  trained as a medic for a Battalion Aid Station. When his basic and AIT (Advanced Individual Training) were over, he was stationed at Ft Irwin California with an Artillery Unit, training for Viet Nam. 

The exchange of folded notes for nearly two years at school, became a flood of letters, first from Redmond to Portland, then from Ft. Sam Houston, a couple from Ft. Lewis, and the rest from Ft Irwin, in the southern California dessert.  How I haunted the mailbox for a letter from him!  My hope was almost always rewarded; he was very faithful with his writing.  Those letters, recently removed from the box where they have resided for nearly 49 years, are very precious to me.  They were at the time they were written, for they spoke of hope, of love, of plans for our future, and of anticipation.  I treasured those letters, with their sometimes misspelled words, written on whatever paper he could find.  They told me the news, what he had done that day, but more importantly of his love for me.  I read them over and over, and answered quickly.  By the next day or so, another one would arrive, and I would pore over it, again and again.

In this age of cell phones, unlimited long distance and texting, a courtship carried on by snail mail is almost incomprehensible. But those technical advances were still many years in the future for us. The US mail was all we had; that and a very occasional long distance phone call that was definitely outside our slim budget. Stamps were 5 cents for regular mail, and 8 for airmail.  We opted for the extra 3 cents in order to get our mail one day sooner.

On a cold November night, 1965, before he was drafted,  Leland had come to see me in Portland.  We went out together that night, I don't remember where, but I do remember that we ended up on Mt. Tabor overlooking the city lights.  He parked the car, I slid into his arms and we exchanged a few lingering kisses. He then told me how much he loved me, and asked me to be his wife.  I said yes, he reached under the seat, took out a  little box and opened it to reveal a very pretty,  modern little watch ( the SDA alternative to an engagement ring). He  placed it on my right wrist and we were officially, engaged.  It was a delightful surprise, not the proposal, I was expecting that at some time, but the manner, the timing and the watch were all unexpected. That was his style, he loved surprises, and was very good at keeping his secret until time to reveal his plans. 

We had no money, he was to be drafted in December, and most likely sent to Viet Nam.  I was still in my senior year, going to night school and working during the day.  My wages were 1.65 per hour and  I was  helping my parents out by giving them one hundred dollars per month room and board.   We had no idea when we would be able to be married and support ourselves.  The only certainty we had was our love for each other and a determination to be together, whatever that would take.

 All of our wedding plans were carried out  through the US Mail, one letter at time. It was difficult to plan our wedding without a date. We were uncertain when  he could get a leave to come  home; the consequences of a probable pending deployment to Viet Nam, and not enough  money  were a constant concern.  But with all of those issues there was also  the sweet anticipation of knowing that when  the details were finally worked out, we would be married and together for the rest of our lives.

 We were married  July, 3, 1966 on a cool rainy day in Portland at the Village Church.  It was the best and happiest of days!

Now, after nearly 49 years of happy marriage to my best friend, lover, and father of our children, those letters and notes are doubly precious to me. The envelopes are  ragged on the edges, torn open by eager fingers, and yellowed with age.  They speak of  promises kept, dreams fulfilled, a love that matured and became more precious as the years went by, living now only in my memories, and in my heart. They spark memories of a life well lived, and  remind me that I am a fortunate woman to have been loved by a man such as he, faithful, loyal, true to his family and to his God.  Never were promises  of love more faithfully kept than by my Sweetheart.

The world would not judge these letters as great prose, but to me, outside of the Bible, they are the most precious words ever penned; I will treasure them in my heart for as long as I draw breath.