My Rock!!

Well, Here is Matt & Martha!

This photo was taken at a Dinner this past weekend as we were part of helping with the Rehearsal!  Matt is a wonderful man-its just that simple.  I can tell you that when we married-almost 37 years ago, he had a FULL head of hair!  We have joked over the years as to WHY he lost his hair and came up with this:  With Me-well there are all types of situations and things happening that Matt would stop, and take his hand, pulling his hair back in frustration and thinking "What a Week I am having with my Wife!"  As the years went by, his remaining hair was going away FAST-and so I suggest he shave it off.  I had seen many men with a shaved head and found it "quite attractive" so he finally gave in, agreeing to go have it done.  But one night, he decided Martha needed a "surprise" and he comes walking out of the bathroom, and asks me "Well, what do you think?"

Oh my gosh-there he stands, not realizing that in his rapid shaving-lots of Pitiful patches were still left on his head and then as he turns around, All I can see is this solid WHITE area on the back!!  My brain is saying, "how am I going to be seen in public with this man?"  But being the loving wife, I smile big and tell him "I love the New Look!"  Something must have told him-"my wife is NOT telling me the truth" and he just stood there, waiting for the real Martha to show up and I did, by suggesting we both go back to the bathroom and help "Slay the remaining hairs!"

It all worked out, as he was outside the next day, getting a lot of sun to help the WHITE area blend with the rest of him.  Matt has had a mustache since we first met-and its been shaved off only TWO times in our marriage-he had to shave it when he entered the Police Academy, and about thirteen years later, shaved it off as he took a month off of work to study for the Detective Exam-and yes, he made Detective and we finally got to have weekends together!

We met at a Chili Cook-off in Sept. 1973-I was with a group of girls who went to high school with me and they were attending college in this town-but I could not go to college as my parents simply could not afford it.  We are all walking around and suddenly we see this booth with several "good looking men" laughing and cooking away on their Chili.  Everyone talked about going up to ask for a sample but none of them had the nerve-except for Me!  I went marching up there, long blonde hair flowing, tight fitting jeans and a smile on my face as I asked "Could I please have some Chili?"

My future husband stepped right up and gave me a sample of his Chili!  Of course I thought he was so handsome but what stood out the most was his SMILE!! I had never seen anybody that happy in my life-(probably helped that he had been enjoying a few beers) and we started talking-as my friends now wanted me to follow them.  I waved my hand toward them, saying I would find them later.  NOTHING was going to pull me away from this man and this Smile!! We started talking, about everything from where we grew up as kids, when suddenly Matt stops and tells me "I don't want to get married for TEN years!"  I don't know if he was testing me but I just looked at him and said "Well-in TEN years, you just might not find ANYBODY worth marrying!!!"  It silenced him and on we went-talking as if nobody else existed around us, with Matt not caring if the Chili burned up as he tried one more test "I want to have SIX kids" and it didn't take me long to answer back "Well, you are looking at the WRONG woman because I don't think I can do that!"  He took a long look and still chattered away.  We realized our conversation had been going for almost three hours and I figured my friends might be getting nervous, so I gave him the phone number where I was staying at and we promised to meet up later that night at a dance (of course Matt never made the dance-as the beer and Chili put him to bed) and he walked me over to where I would wait for my friends-when suddenly he looks at me with those EYES of his and says "Can I kiss you Goodbye?"

To this day I don't know why these words came out of my mouth but I said "Now listen, I really don't know you at all, but I don't mind if you give me a Kiss on the Cheek!"  He looked like a sad kid but acted like the true gentleman he has always been and gave me a very wonderful kiss on my cheek!  We never saw each other that night, and I left to go back home where I lived with my Parents.  My friends told me their phone rang very early that morning with Matt asking to speak with me!  They gave him my home number, he called that afternoon and we began dating the following weekend.

Our courtship lasted for over a year and we never missed a weekend of being together.  When he took me home on that first date, I turned to him and asked "Why did you ask me out?"  In my mind, I could not comprehend such a wonderful person wanting to date me because I did not ever see myself as attractive.  Matt turned to me with such a serious look and said "I took you out because I am in LOVE with you!"  Now that one stopped me in my tracks-and my Mom told me just a few weeks later, she knew I had met the man I would marry!

Matt is patient, kind, loving, strong, full of joy and laughter and above all, he is my ROCK!  I lean on him for everything-I do NOT want to think of my life without him!  Our prayer is to grow OLD together!

I hope you enjoyed our story!  There is nobody else like Matt.