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February 22, 2002
Im afraid I may have made too much of my "General Hospital" tale and you are now expecting something really wild and steamy.Figured Id better get this entry written quickly,before your imaginations run away with you altogether! All right,here it is:I was married to the same man twice and had another husband in between..........This is really a marvelous story of Gods grace & how that grace can take even our mistakes & make something beautiful out of them.Charles & I met when I was 15 and he was 17.We both came from rather dysfunctional family situations.His dad was in the military & then died (along with another daddy)when Charles was 10,in a tragic drowning while the 2 families boated one Easter Sunday.His mom felt so badly for him,young boy losing a dad & all,that she made it her lifes mission to do everything unpleasant & difficult for him.I wont even touch on my family situation at this point.Charles mom re-married another military guy when he was 12 and spent the rest of her life divorcing & re-marrying this abusive, alcoholic man.I only touch on these unhappy issues to say that we were probably 2 of the least qualified & prepared people for a good marriage that have ever lived!We were living in South FL,between Miami & the FL keys.My family had moved into this 3 bedroom condo to sort of help prepare for my parents upcoming divorce (downsizing & all)and Charles & his mom had moved into this same (large) condo development because she had left his step-dad.I was kind of a wild-child.My parents were so wrapped up in their own problems that I sort of quietly came & went(mostly went!) as I pleased.Charles good friend Bryan lived in my courtyard and took me to a few gatherings to meet some people and Charles was one of his best friends.My teens are amused no end at having their very own version of That 70's show under their own roof and we really WERE like that!I havent seen the show enough to know the names of all of them, but I would say that I was the most like Donna only not as outspoken & blonde not red-headed & thinner & shorter.Charles would have been a mixture of Kelso (especially the hair & build) but with eyes like Donnas boyfriend.Charles was actually dating some other girls that 1st year I knew him,so I kind of admired him from afar.After he graduated he began to come over every day to my courtyard so that he & Bryan could work on(you guessed it)Charles van for their long awaited summer trip to the North & Canada.I ended up helping them and even made seat cushions,with a lot of help from my mom,for the seats he had made in there.We started dating during this time and he told me he would"think about me" while he was away.When he came back,we resumed dating that school year.The next year his mom decided to re-marry the stepdad & move to Kentucky (his home state)in hopes that he would be happier if he were near his family.Charles transfered to a college in western Kentucky.I started attending night classes so that I could graduate early from high school.I did and the winter of 75,started attending college there myself.We lived in a pretty wild off-campus dorm and my main objective for being there was to have a reason to be near him,I must say!We saw a lot of his mom & stepdad & family and they began to say things like:The 2 of you should get married and getting married would make Charles a whole lot more responsible.After that semester,we returned to S.FL and were married in June of 1976,the month I turned 18!We had a(you guessed it,again!)outdoor,semi-hippie style wedding which also delights my teens no end. I was beyond naieve! I had a pretty traditional vision for this union and thought that the simple act of getting married would somehow transform us into this whole picket fence scenario.Actually,what I planned on and would have been thrilled and content with was an on-campus,married students apt.I wanted a place of peace & safety.A place I could make into our home.Well,it didnt exactly turn out that way,but I will have to get to that,& the other 2 marriages, in my next installment.Have a great weekend!And Brooke,I hope this is your big weekend!Love,Catherine "How can you say that someone has too many children?That would be like having too many flowers! Mother Theresa
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