Jim and me reflections

Here is a photo Jim found this week, in a drawer. I was saving it carefully (most of our photos are torn up). It is from July 1985. We took it of ourselves with the timer setting on the camera, on our deck. As you can see I am throughly in love with Jim and (as you can see further down on the top photo ) literally capturing Jim with my hand so that he can't run anywhere.

Writing on clothing appears to be very popular that year: Jim has on a T shirt which seems to say "New York" in a really out of date script, on lurid lavendar. haha. We are talking "Miami Vice" era, people. I have on an OP sweatshirt with writing on the arm, and I used to wear that with a miniscule cotton turquoise and white striped mini by Benetton, which snapped all the way up the front and was suitable for many occasions, in my opinion, including wearing cool sunglasses and wandering around Paris, France (where I purchased one earring from the store Ylang Ylang, because that was all I could afford) and also wearing the same mini and throwing it on with any old t shirt I could locate which was in one of the colors of the time: purple, orange, hot pink, yellow, more turquoise, you name it. That summer, if it was eye popping and had writing all over it, it was in fashion.

Jim and I met in July of 1985. I forced him to move in with me that September. I forced him to get engaged to me shortly after, by vigorously throwing all the chairs off the deck into the woods behind the house in a demostration of love and passion to which he was incapable of saying no.

He did manage to "just stay engaged to me" for five years after that. That is correct! We didn't get married till 1990. However, we have been together for 23 years now. Not bad for two people nobody would have bet on past 6 months or so. hahaha! We showed them.

Someone asked me what my secret to a happy marriage is. I said, "Do you want me to be very honest?"

She said, "Yes".

I said, "OK.

1) equal libidos

2) complete trust or you are totally goners

3) you really have to be in love. If you are not in love, what are you doing in the relationship?"

I think this is fair to say. It is fair to say, but hard to do.

I look at that photo of me and Jim and I still see us the same way. Yes we have progressed. Yes we have had pain. Yes, it has been a hard time off and on. On the other hand, I KNOW I am with the right guy. And Jim? Well...Jim has no choice, does he? :)

jean