Rich does and says so many cute things during the day and I want to start writing them down:
When we are driving somewhere, he frequently tells me what a good driver I am. Then he thanks me for driving us to the store, to visit our girls, or wherever we happened to go. I have to tell you, this makes my heart beat faster every time! Before he was encouraged to stop driving, he did all the driving when the two of us were in the car together. It was hard for him to give up driving but he is now so gracious about me doing all of it.
At the end of every day, Rich says, "Thank you so much for the wonderful day. You do so much to make our days happy."
Another frequent saying is: "I am the luckiest man alive having you for my wife!" or "I won the lottery when I married you!" He is absolutely the sweetest and most encouraging guy around!! I always retort that God has richly blessed us with each other!
I've mentioned that Rich burps A LOT during the day. He usually says, "Scuse me" in a high squeaky voice that makes me laugh (and keeps me from being irritated with his continual burping)!
When I asked him today if he remembered a friend of mine from my days as the librarian at Christine Donnell School of the Arts, he said "Vaguely." I said, "that means 'not really', doesn't it?" He grinned at me and retorted, "Pretty much!" He is, however, the best at acting like he remembers people when I know that he hasn't got a clue who they are. He is such a friendly and genuinely caring person that it isn't hard for him to talk to anyone (whether he knows them or not).
Rich was so excited on May 30 because some of our new neighbors (two or three blocks away;-) invited us to their block party celebration for Memorial Day. He was sure that they were some people that we knew from our previous church in Meridian. He wanted me to drive down and talk to them (I still can't walk around much with my bum knee). We drove down to the new homes at the end of Placerville and everyone waved at us and greeted Rich by name. I didn't recognize them and asked one sweet lady how they knew Rich. She said, "Oh, he walks by here everyday and is so friendly - everyone here knows who Rich is." They weren't from our old church, in fact, they had moved to Middleton from Oregon but they treated him like a long lost friend. He is that kind of guy!
He is always so appreciative of our wait staff, checkers at the store, really anyone who helps us throughout the day. Today (6/24/2021) we went to the DMV to get him a new ID card to use when we fly to Seattle in July. We had such a wonderful woman help us and Rich characteristically asked to speak to her supervisor so he could give her kuddos. He ALWAYS is grateful for good service and goes out of his way to thank people. Honestly, he is a great role model for me! I want to have a joyful and thankful heart!
Comments
When you and I worked at Christine Donnell together I remember Rich coming to pick you up from school many of those days. He made it a point to get to know me and speak to me every time! He would remember our last conversation, ask about Dale’s job search ( he was also searching at the time). We also spoke about our car troubles, which both of us couples had. Rich also remembered to ask about our daughter, Brooke, and even our dogs!
I so enjoyed our conversations and both of your friendship, and I wholeheartedly agree; Rich is a thoughtful and kind soul. Just because he can’t remember some of us or our friendships does not mean they did not happen, or that I forget them! I am forever grateful and I looks forward to the day when he WILL remember and we can reminisce again, “ in the sweet by and by”.