IRENE

IRENE

I will now take the opportunity to talk about my “BEST FRIEND”.

From the first moment that I saw Irene I knew that there was something about her that was different than other girls…she was obviously pretty and had a sweetness that was appealing….not to mention she looked GREAT in tight Levis. I also felt like she would be a wonderful wife and someday, (hopefully FAR in the future) she’d be a good mother.
Watching her and the relationship that she had with Sam’s children showed that she was comfortable being around kids. Someone who comes from a large family knows how to be loving and considerate of others.

I “LOVED” being around her and I guess that it was obvious to my friends and family because they didn’t see as much of me as they had in the past. Irene doesn’t speak out much and talk of her feelings…but she didn’t hesitate when I asked her to marry me so
I assumed that it was the same as her verbalizing her feelings for me, I think. Of course she told me that she loved me but for her to change her life so dramatically and move far away from her Mother and Father who were very dear to her really said, “I love you”.

Being so far from home and not being able to call her family like we do today…(Long distance calls were EXPENSIVE!!) She had to have been pretty lonely for “FAMILY”. It wasn’t long before the NEED to start a family came into her conversation. I wasn’t in the same hurry as her to begin a family but I respected the need that was obviously there so I said OK.

We’d moved to Gilroy and when it was time for her to have her little girl you would have thought that she was the happiest person on the planet. Her Mom and Dad came out to
be with her in our TINY house and were sure a help…Vicky’s tongue got caught in her throat one night and Irene woke up most of Gilroy. Her Mother quickly grabbed Vicky and cleared her air passage….good thing. Irene was in a panic mode and I don’t think that I’d been very close to one of those little creatures. I was completely worthless.

Irene’s Father did the honors in our living room and gave Vicky a “ Name and a Blessing”. Irene seemed to change after the birth of her little one. She was growing up with this little spirit in our home. I even went to Church with her and our daughter. She was happy that I was going to take the lessons to learn about the Church but I felt like this was all coming too quickly…and I really wasn’t in a hurry to quit smoking and having a beer or two. (or three… or four…) To her credit she NEVER tried to push the Church on me and she showed a lot of wisdom in that regard. I’m sure that when I asked the missionaries to not come back she was disappointed but didn’t let it show.

I think that anyone reading this will understand the nature of this girl…and also of the difficulty that it was for me to accept these HUGE changes in my life. I don’t think that anyone goes into a marriage understanding how much this is going to affect their lives.

Irene certainly helped me to come along this “NEW” path and I feel like I would never had been able to accept the Church and it’s teachings without her being there supporting me as I made this journey. Joining the church has given me some insights about this life and our relationship with Father in Heaven and the Savior.....and also with us as brother and sisters. After I joined the Church I got my Patriarchal blessing and was told that someday I would understand the things that Father has done for me to bring me to the Gospel. I believe that it wasn’t an accident that Irene came to visit her brother…take a job for a few days at Mel’s and me just show up and meet her there. The feelings that we had for each other were manifested so quickly and strongly that I feel that we we had to have been close enough in the spirit world that we were allowed to “meet up” like we did.

Meeting Irene and all that followed was not by chance…these things couldn’t be just a coincidence….Just recently I was talking with Dennis Perry and we were discussing my going through the experience that I had prior to my being able to teach him the discussions…he told me that he needed to have me work with him. I said that knowing him, he certainly would have been exposed to the gospel at another time and he would have accepted it. He said that he didn’t believe that was the case…he told me, “You were not a typical “Mormon”. You were a convert to the Church, also an artist and a musician. Those things and our friendly association brought the perfect situation to me to allow me to gain a testimony. I may not have been as receptive to the AVERAGE “Mormon”. I firmly believe that Fathers hand is in our lives and the situations that we find ourselves in are not by chance. He knows how we’ll react to the “Obstacle Course” that he has laid out for us and he puts us in these situations to allow us to grow from them.

Over the years it has been a challenge for both of us as we make this journey…Joseph Smith said that he felt like a rock being carried down a river, being bounced around, and having the rough edges knocked off until someday he’d be smooth and be what Father wanted him to be. Well I have have certainly been a witness to this process with Irene and I and it continues today…I guess “We just ain’t smooth enough yet”!

My children could not have found a more caring and loving Mother, and me, a wife. She has always put everyone else and their needs before her own. With my kids starting your own lives Irene was able to get out of the house and go to work…she was in her “Comfort Zone” and really didn’t want to go out “There”, but she did and it has been good for her. It has been fun to see her gain self confidence and stretch herself out. She is a kind and loving person and is always showing our children and grandchildren and myself where her heart is. I have tried to be supportive and probably surprised her when she made a decision to buy a car for herself…she picked it out and did it all on her own. When she came to me saying she wanted to buy our house I could only say yes… I didn’t even have to go see it and put in my two cents. I wouldn’t have wanted to accept this kind of responsibility at this time of life on my own of buying a new house, but she’s earned it by her unselfish sacrifice and also she needs it to have some security for herself in her later life.

I guess you can get a feel for my devotion and love for my “Wife and best friend” that has stood beside me for all of these years. We love and appreciate all our loving children and their children…this family is a testimony to me of the love that Father in Heaven has for his children, He has certainly blessed all of us. Irene and I are getting older and a little slower but were still enjoying life together. It can’t be any better than this.