Love is a fabulous thing. It wonderful when you find it and while we do our best to not let it go sometimes someone greater than us has a different plan. People fall in love everyday and finding your soulmate is such an amazing feat that there are times when you feel you won’t find them. I believe in fate. There is someone out there for each of us. Sometimes we get lucky and our fate involves not just one but two loves. My mom was one of those lucky folks.
My parents were happily married for almost 30 years. They were married on November 2, 1973 and they couldn’t have been more made for each other. They stayed each other’s strength through all the hurdles life can throw at you. Let me tell you they had some major hurdles to overcome. One such was my dad discovering his body was riddled with cancer and that he probably wouldn’t last more than a couple months. My mom rarely left my dad’s side. My dad passed away a couple months later and life ceased to exist in my house. My mom’s world came crumbling down all around her in a matter of months. She thought she would never love again and years later she met Wayne.
Wayne is a heck of a guy. He reminds me of my dad in many ways. He’s loud and obnoxious, gives huge bear hugs, and loves great food. He’s been taking my mom all over the country so that she can see what this great place has to offer. She’s seen the depths of the grand canyon, the mossy covered bayous of Louisiana and felt the down home comfort of Texas. He even brought her to Arkansas while I was there to meet my dad’s family! They made their way around Thailand about a month ago and ended up buying land there to someday build a house for all of us to be able to visit.
While she’s so lucky, I have to say that my brothers and I are just as lucky. Many people dread parents remarrying, scared of the unknown and the awkward period of getting to know each other. In our case it was the opposite. The first time I met Wayne, I told my brother I was just going to stop by for 30 minutes tops. Instead, I ended up staying for 4 hours! I felt like I knew him for years. We are so blessed to have him in our lives and we love him so much!
These photos are from a BBQ we had with my family before my Mom and Wayne left for a road trip. My cousins and I went to a park nearby and just goofed around and had some good laughs. While nothing about them shows off our talents, I just thought it’d be fun to share some normal snapshots of life. Please enjoy!
