My Willa

[Seajay]

My Willa
The greatest thing in life is my wife Willa. We got married back in 06 at Turtle Point on the American side of Niagara Falls.
We met at Walmart in 04 because I smiled at her and she smiled back. Back in 03 I lost my wife Linda after 43 years of happy marriage. She was a happy healthy lady one day and dead the next. She died of a brain aneurysm. I had no mother no father no brother or sister no son or daughter and no wife. Life didnt mean much to me anymore.
Willa lost her husband to a motor cycle accident back in 02. He left for a ''ride'' one day and never came home alive. Such is life.
We ''dated'' at the Walmart coffee shop for some time. She thought I was a maintenance man in a furniture factory and I learned she was a nurse in a rehab center in Boone. We went slow and got to know each other. Sometimes we would go to the Sagebrush Steak house for dinner and then go up on the ''mountain'' and sit and talk and watch the traffic go by.
She finally invited me to ''dinner'' at her house in Boone and it was a disaster. The carrots were not ''done'' in the beef stew, there was one potato in the potato salad that was not completely cooked and she had ''sweetened the tea'' TWICE. I think she was a bit nervous to say the least. The green beans were really good and so was the home made bread. We sat and talked on the sofa for a while and I excused myself to go home because it was getting dark and I had almost 40 miles to go to get back home. I kissed her goodbye on the porch and as I was leaving she shouted........ ''WAIT A MINUTE''......''I MADE DESSERT''....... ''PECAN PIE, WITH ICE CREAM ON TOP''...... I took a pass on the pie for fear she may have forgotten to shell all the pecans. In desperation she shouted after me....'' IM A GOOD COOK,,,,,,,,,, LOOK HOW BIG I AM''.......She was not ''big'' but I guess all women think they should lose a few pounds.... we still laugh about that meal. After that we started seeing each other on a regular basis. I finally told her that I was not been a maintenance man in a furniture factory, I told her that I had owned the furniture factory. Our relationship got more personal after that and I finally started having a reason to stay alive again. We dated for a while and I asked her if she had ever been traveling in a motor home. She said no and that she had never been to the outer banks here in NC. She had never been anywhere to see anything. I told her that ''this will change'' if you stick with me. She took a weeks vacation and we went to the outer banks and then down to Wallace to meet her children. Life was good again. I told her that I lived to travel and that she should quit her job so we would be free to travel. She had rental property to supplement her income and I suggested that she should quit the nursing job because I had enough money for both of us. Strange as it may seem we did not ''live together'' at that time. I had great trepidation concerning My Willa. I was not sure that I could truly love again and I absolutely did not want to ''use this lady'' or ''hurt her'' in any way. True, we slept together in the coach and sometimes on the weekends at her house but she still lived in Boone and I in Granite Falls. We would take week long trips in the coach and come back home. Her to Boone and me to Granite Falls. In 05 I proposed that we go to Alaska for four months or so. She was delighted and we left in June and returned in October. Linda and I had been to Alaska in 2000 so I knew my ''way around'' and I was able to show My Willa all the fun stuff between NC and Fairbanks and everything in between. Life was good to say the least. When we returned from Alaska I proposed marriage to My Willa. I figured that if we could spend 120 days together in a 33 foot motor home and still liked each other and that we should get married and spend our lives together. She said ''YES''..... I bought a diamond ring for her and she spent the next months ''Glowing'' and ''Showing''............. In July of 06 I made this wonderful lady my wife and life is good. We ''honeymooned'' in Nova Scotia for a couple of months, came home, put on two front tires on the coach and went to California for a while and then to Florida for the winter. I lost 9 pounds but I smiled a lot......... (nuff said 'bout that)
Since then we have traveled to 49 states and most of Canada. We have logged about 70 thousand miles on the coach and needless to say ''LIFE IS GOOD''. We have been back to Alaska on our second honeymoon on a two week cruise on the Tahitian Princess going up the inside passage.
My Willa and I share life. We are still very much in love and we love to be with each other. She is my life, my wife and my best friend and I truly believe that I could not live without her by my side. We can talk and laugh and sometimes cry together. We share our lives and our love for each other and it is my wish that everyone could have the wonderful life that we share. True, sometimes rarely, we have a difference but it is always put away before bed time and it is usually over something really stupid that means nothing in the greater plan of life as it were. Mere words can not express my feelings for this lady. She is the sunshine that warms my face on a cold day and the cool breeze of summer evenings. She is the warm rain to grow my life and the soft winds that change the seasons. She is all to me and I would be nothing without her. She is my love, my life, my darling wife and when God decides to take one of us, my prayer is that it will be me for I could not and would not live without My Willa


Seajay the sailor man …...
(i love my baby girl)

[Flagelpater]

FWIW Wow! You are a lucky man. I know what luck is because I am still with the "love of my life." I am only jealous of your ability to use the english language. Please keep it up. Flagelpater

[tncruiser]

you are a great wordsmith
brianj

[Wayne M]

Seajay,
If I didn't know you from our personal communications, I'd just think you were BS'ing. But I know better. You truly have lived. May you and Willa have many, many more years together.

[bigskymt]

Some people get a second chance at true happiness. My compliments Seajay, your posts prove you've been blessed both with women and words.
Thank you, I hope you never run out of stories.............

[idenphones]

Seajay,

You are are a lucky man!

If I didn't have my sweetie pie, I would be jealous.

[Seajay]

My Willa, My Wife, My Love, My Life

[CorsairIIAT]

SeaJay,

You are a very lucky man. Willa is a very beautiful lady. The best to both of you.

[Lindsay Richards]

Wonderful story. I started dating my Nancy in 1962 and we are still together. I wish you two the best of luck. My Nancy is also a nurse and it is a wise man that marries a nurse as we both know.

[dieselclacker]

I think there is a "Willa" standing next to every happily married man. I know I have one.

Dieselclacker

[BigSkyBob]

Obviously a woman who is blessed with inner beauty as well as a beauty reflected in her outward appearance. And a man who has come to know in his heart what real, unconditional love is.

[CoastieSCPO]

What a wonderful story Seajay. You are truly blessed and both of you are lucky to have each other. My bride of 35 years and I wish you all the best, and may you have fair weather and calm seas for all of your future travels and adventures.

Bob

[desertrv]

What a great story. I have lived with the same Sweetie for 40 yrs this nov, what a blessing she has been in my life. I checked out your lady's picture, what a smile. I also looked at the mandolin. I am a bluegrass picker and my main instrument is the mandolin. I checked out the tub and tile from melaleuca, we are melaleuca independent market executives. Looks like we may have a little in common, great women in our lives, enjoy the mandolin and enjoy great products.

[Seajay]

You guys are very kind with your words and thoughts. What worries me is that Willa may someday get her ''glasses changed'' and get a good look at my ugly mug and go ''HOLLY CAT STUFF'' .....''I SURE DIDNT KNOW HE WAS THAT UGLY''...LOL...
On our second anniversary we took the Tahitian Princess on fourteen days on the inside passage back to Alaska. Our first ''anniversary'' was messed up by me and I did this to ''redeem myself'' in her eyes. I'll tell you that story sometime. ...... Anyhow, I fixed it as a surprise for Willa that we should ''GET MARRIED AGAIN'' by the captain of the ''Princess''. Our guests were all our ''table mates'' (four couples) and I pulled off the ''ruse'' like a pro. Willa never knew until I sprung the trap. She thought we were going to a surprise birthday party for Rota, one of our table friends. Willa had even bought Rota a bottle of wine and a Happy Birthday card from the gift shop.... I wrote Willa a poem on a cardboard shirt stiffener ''thingie'' from our luggage ..... Here is what I wrote.

Four years ago, in Walmart store, I saw a pretty lady
She had brown eyes, a pretty smile, I wondered if she'd talk a while
I smiled at her, she smiled at me, I looked away and then
Turned back to her and gave a smile,.......
She smiled at me again........
We sat and talked 'ore coffee cold 'bout how our lives had been.
I smiled at her, she smiled at me, and then she smiled again....
Two hours flew by, twas time to go and this I can't deny...
I asked if ''I might have a kiss''? and then we'd say good bye.....
''Not here you fool, there's people 'round and camera in the sky''......
''Just follow me to pots and pans, and there we'll say good bye''
Four years ago in Walmart store I met a pretty lady
She has brown eyes, a pretty smile, I hope she'll stay a long long while........

I read this at our ''vows renewal'' ceremony and it made her cry.

We did a ''tour of the bridge'' of the Princess that same evening before dinner and got a real surprise. Our balcony was directly under the captains bridge and the captains bridge has ''blacked out windows'' on it to protect from the glare of the sun. From our balcony we had noticed the ''blacked out windows'' two decks up but it never occurred to us that they could ''see out'' but we could not ''see in''. Willa looked out from the center of the captains bridge and questioned as to that being ''our balcony'' down below. Sure enough, that was our ''cabin'' and our '' balcony''..............''OH DAMN''........''OH DOUBLE DAMN''........ We thought our balcony was very private because there was nothing in front of it except the bow of the ship and partitions on each side blocked any view from the side. We had ''looked up'' but figured since we could not ''see in'' no one could ''see out'' of the windows two deck up. Willa asked the captain if someone was always ''standing watch'' at these center windows and he said yes, at all times when we are at sea........with binoculars ....high powered binoculars.......... ''OH DAMN......'' OH DOUBLE DAMN''...... I noticed that the ''look out'' guy was smiling at her real big.......lol ......
I reassured Willa that we would never see any of these people again and for sure they didn't know whom we were and not to ''worry'' about it......
She looked at me and said.....'' YEAH SURE..........WHAT IF THEY SHOT VIDEO AND WE ARE NOW STARS ON ''U TUBE'' NOW MR. WOULDN'T ''THAT'' BE FUN ON THE BALCONY GUY''?.....................(it was fun, all natural with the cool breeze of the glaciers, with the sea and the sky and the salt breeze and the vibrations of the ship riding the gentle swells and the mighty engines ''humming beneath our feet'' (cough cough).......We even remembered to bring the two blankets and sofa pillows back inside the cabin before we went to dinner..............Nuff said bout that..........
In closing before this turns into a novel.......... Life is tenuous guys. I learned that from my first wife Linda. You can be a happy, healthy person without a care in the world one day and you can be DEAD THE NEXT. Such is life........
ENJOY LIFE. DO IT ...... GO FOR IT...... TAKE THAT CHANCE. THROW THE BLANKETS AND SOFA PILLOWS ON THE BALCONY AND ''GO FOR IT''. To paraphrase Admiral Perry.....''DAMN THE VIDEOS.... FULL SPEED AHEAD''......... You never know when you will not get another chance.......