17/06/2024
*Mikes Story❤️
Momma here~I’ve told this story before, but I’m telling again due to requests ❤️.
I first met Mike when I was 5 years old and he was a 15 year old, motor cycle riding “bad boy”. His oldest brother and my oldest sister were married. My daddy had asked my brother in law if his brothers would come help him with some remodeling work, to which they agreed.
I was the baby of 4 girls. Mike came from a family of 6 boys so I was very fascinated with all the boys. Especially the one that rode the motorcycle 😂. Well time passed. Mike married and I did as well. We no longer came in contact much except family gatherings at my sisters house.
I married at 16 and had Mindi when I was 17. I had another daughter when I was 20 and a son when I was 21. By then my marriage was terrible…lots of abuse and I divorced at 22. I worked every day and supported my children. I did not have time for a social life. But I prayed every night for God to send me a good man, not for me, but one to be the daddy my children had never had.
After about a year and a half, one Sunday my sister called and asked if I wanted to play a game of softball with them. I took the kids and met them at the park. Mike was there. My sister told me he had left his wife (after a very unhappy marriage) and was staying with them until he got an apartment rented. Mike and I barely talked.
However a few days later he called and asked me to go out to eat with him. “Bring the kids” he said….so I did. The rest is history. My children were only 5, 3, and 2 years old. They adored “Uncle Mike”. This was August 1979. The more time we spent together, the better it was and we married just 2 months later on Oct 19, 1979. I was 24 and Mike was 34. It was a Friday and we were both at work. Mike called me and said “Hey, I’ll come get you on your lunch break and we’ll go to the courthouse and get married, ok?” And that’s what we did. Mike worked for Budweiser and wore his uniform and I had on blue jeans and a tee shirt. After we got married, we both went back to work! That night when he came home with me, he told the kids “don’t call me Uncle Mike any more. I’m your daddy now”. And boy did he take that role seriously.
I had no idea at that time that I had married the love of my life. We had so many things in common…love of family and home, Mike loved yard work and was always building me flowerbeds. He was building me a flower bed the day he had his first aneurysm Feb 2010.
He was in ICU for several days and the neurologist told me to prepare for his funeral. However he had an amazing recovery. I took a leave of absence from work and everyday I spent time teaching him how to tell time, count money, tie his shoes….Not only did Mike recover, but returned to his normal good health and returned to work to everyone’s amazement.
He enjoyed good health for 8 years. Then a second aneurysm occurred in November of 2018 and a third in March of 2019 that he would not recover from. He died March 20, 2019. I was at his side while he struggled to breathe. I told to go ahead, I would be ok. I had my hand on his chest and was praying to God for God to ease his suffering when I felt Mike relax and quit breathing. Losing Mike has been the greatest loss of my life. But he always told me he would die before me. He would say “Momma, you are the smartest woman I know, you’ll be ok and you’ll be married again before you know it”. Well, he’s irreplaceable so I’ll never marry again….I will just get more dogs. And if I’m smart, it’s only because of all he taught me. He put me thru nursing school. He taught me the difference between a Phillips head screwdriver and a flat head. He taught me about commitment, work ethic….and so much more. And…..I know I’ll see him again some day, the love of my life. Happy Fathers Day in Heaven, Mike, I miss you❤️.