Mar. 92'

Some things in life are not completely secure...You and I both learned this when word around Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine was a major RIF was happening and people's jobs were ending.

No, not mine you said, 16 years of service.  A secure foundation and safety for that position should hold.  Not what You learned and shared with me when they informed you that day you could take a position in Washington, DC or lose your job.

No real discussion needed to be had all thoses years could not be thrown away. So we both decided without hesitation our need to move and continue your career.  Off to DC we headed for a short jont to take a look at the area, job and .  what it intailed.

Marine Barracks, 8th and I, as a Plumber/Pipefitter.  The oldest post in the Marine Corp.  where the Commandant and the 4 star Generals lived.  Hundreds of Marine's lived here along side them.

So May 1992, we began our journey to Washington, DC, not knowing what laid ahead for us.  We knew together we could forge forward, begin a new with our 2 cats in the back seats with us, Runt and Tera.

Farwells and a hopeful visit soon were said to many. Some of these very difficult, many teary eyes and not enough hugs we could give or receive.

1987

I can picture it as if it were yesterday ..... your co-worker spoke of this small studio apartment that he and his wife had above their garage.  We were both anxious and excited, maybe a place to call our's, a small beginning.

We entered and gazed at the beauty of it all.  Oak every where for the inside structure.  Small area for the kitchen, and a table for two...You and I :).  Small bathroom with a sink, toilet and stand-up shower with a skylight window.  Perfect!! Couch divided the room, that pulled out to a bed and tv with a small berrow. 

Sliding glass doors took us out onto a small deck.  Best of all there was access to a long dock over the waterway, with chairs to sit and talk and drink and enjoy the water and scenary.  We both loved the water and ocean. 

How quaint and perfect for the two of us.  We will take it, and this little studio apartment was..... Our Home!

July 1987

It's amazing, some relationships start from a certain dating senario or so forth.  Don and mine started from the best, pure friendship!

We started off working together, purely platonic.  We would arrive to work and in between my Customer's we sat together, chewing on ice (lol) discussing everyday happenings.  As the friendship grew, so did the difficulties in both of our lives and our families.

We then found that the ease of talking and laughing enriched our friendship and a deeper foundation began to grow.  The feelings of need one another had to talk, grew to a deeper caring, concern, etc.

I would express to anyone looking for advise on relationships would be, friendship is one of the greatest assetts that two people start with for the foundation.  Our marriage never changed in the aspect that we both looked to one another for that Best Friend, we found those 28 years ago!