Precious Memories - Lynn Stannard

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day, as the class was lining up to go to lunch in the cafeteria, Robbie looked down and noticed that his shoe was untied. He came to me, tugged on my skirt, and politely asked me to tie it for him. Without any hesitation, I bent down to tie his shoe and then move the class along.

      One of the girls saw what was happening. Smugly, she scolded, “Oh, Robbie! You’re six years old, and you can’t even tie your own shoes yet?”

      He lifted up his chin and looked down his nose at her.

      “Am not!” He proudly maintained his composure. “I’m seven!”

      1 Corinthians 13:11 “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put aside childish things.”

      The Senior Prom

      He felt scared and nervous. There was still plenty of time ahead. He had just turned sixteen in September, and his Senior Prom wouldn’t be until May. Although he had never had a date, he had come close a couple times. However, because of pressure from his best friend, who had just graduated, he knew he had to start early if he was going to ask a girl to the Senior Prom.

      So he and his buddy made up a list of senior girls, and began to plot and plan about who he could ask. Some of them were already going steady. Some were too tall. Of course the cheerleaders were out of the question. The list was paring down. There was one girl, though, that he might consider. She was sort of new in the school.

      Fall turned to winter. No more excuses. He was scared, but he knew he had to set up a plan that he couldn’t escape. How about a double date with Don and Betty? They suggested bowling, but he had never been bowling. How hard could it be? So he began to hang around this new girl’s locker a few times, just to say “Hi.” (First things first…)

      Winter turned to spring. Easter was coming. He set up that double date with Don and Betty to go bowling the Monday evening after Easter. Now he just needed to ask her.

      In a portion of the basement at the Middle School, a “Teen Canteen” had been set up for the local teenagers. Mr. Pass was behind the counter working the soda fountain. Popular rock music poured out from the speakers. Sounds of ping pong and pool echoed around the rooms. Black leather jackets, Elvis haircuts, jeans and loafers were the fashion of the day.

      School had let out on Friday, and he went to the Canteen as usual to play pool with his friends. He ordered a chocolate milkshake. As was his habit, he began to drink it without a straw.

      Meanwhile, she and her younger sister came into the Canteen to see if any girls she knew were there. In shock, his heart almost stopped when he looked up from his milkshake and saw her there. She’s here. This is it. Today’s the day. It’s now or never.

      A short while later, panic gripped his stomach, when he saw her putting her car coat back on. She’s leaving. It’s now.

      He took a deep breath and walked up behind her. Nervously, he pulled on her sleeve so she couldn’t slip her arm into it. She turned around.

      He looked at her and said, “Don and Betty are going bowling Monday night.”

      She waited.

      “They want me to go with them.”

      There. He did it.

      She thought quickly, “Is he asking me for a date?” Silence. Mercy.

      “I’ll have to check with my mother.” They were both relieved. He said he’d call her later.

      After she left, he went into the men’s room and discovered his chocolate mustache. Oh no. How embarrassing.

      The date was a beginning. The senior prom was very special. Over the next four years they fell in love.

      And now, as she writes this story, their 50th wedding anniversary is just a few months away.

      Dick and Lynn before the Prom

      Kate’s Commissioning

      Magnificent stone buildings had stood proud and stately for generations. Freshly mown lawns, lush and green, extended out from the sidewalk. As we crossed the picturesque wooden bridge, we admired lovely flowering shrubs, in all their glory as they beautified the grounds. And we were surprised and amazed at the sign directly ahead.

      When our oldest grandson completed college, my husband and I were invited to his graduation. We arrived the day before and were treated royally by our family. They had arranged lovely accommodations, dinner out, and a tasty, filling breakfast the next morning.

      This was Graduation Day. The ceremony for Matt was to be early in the afternoon. Meanwhile, his friend Kate was being commissioned by ROTC. Her ceremony was in the morning. We were told it would be too early, so not to even try to get there. So we didn’t.

      After breakfast and checking out of the hotel, we decided to drive to the campus and find our way around. We located a convenient place to park on a side street and then meandered along the sidewalks until we crossed that wooden bridge.

      As we started to walk past the next building to the left, my husband spotted the sign in front that said “ROTC Commissioning.” We looked at each other. Dick asked, “Could it be?” There was nobody outside that we could ask. He tried the door. It opened, so we stepped into the foyer.

      Peering through the window into the main room, we saw that it was filled with people. The ceremony was already in progress. We could see our daughter and her family sitting in the last row. Just in front of them a couple of seats were available, so we slipped in quietly.

      Surprised, our daughter leaned forward to whisper to us, “Kate’s next!”

      We watched in amazement as Kate stepped up to the platform, and, with a crisp salute, received her commission! Then she stepped off the stage and returned to her seat. It felt surreal! A couple of minutes later, and we would have been too late

      Afterwards, we enjoyed the refreshments and visited with family. Kate was delighted that we had come. We were astounded and felt in awe at the absolutely perfect timing to see Kate’s commissioning.

      Open Doors

      A Christmas gift idea that wouldn’t cost him a cent! When Dick asked me what I’d like for Christmas several years ago, I surprised him by saying I’d like something that wouldn’t cost him anything at all. He raised his eyebrows and said he liked that idea.

      Even while we were dating, I had asked Dick many times to open doors for me. “It’s a gentlemanly thing to do,” I would say. He’d respond that I was strong enough to open my own doors. Every once in a while he would do it, but it was kind of grudgingly.

      I told him that the Christmas gift I had in mind was that I’d like him to open the door for me without my asking for just for one month. I didn’t need anything else for Christmas.

      He thought about it for a while, and he actually started that very day. Way before Christmas, he opened the car door and entrances to church, stores, and home. One month later, he continued to open doors for me.

      Now, many years later, he still opens doors for me.

      In fact, one evening when he opened the door for a woman friend of mine, she was quite impressed. Later she commented to me what a gentleman he was. Then she added, ”I’ll bet that’s why you married him.

      I didn’t explain. I just smiled.

      (By the way, he did get me another gift that Christmas.)

      Amy’s New Pool

      Spring had come again. Everything was feeling new. Mini leaves were budding on the trees. The ice and snow were melted. It had been a long and very cold winter. At long last it was a delight to hear the birds singing. Days were getting

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