Martha and I got married in 1963. As those things happen, we started having kids. First was Dan in 1964, followed by Julie in 1966, and the end of the line was Stacey in 1970. We were firmly established in Rockford Illinois by then, so life consisted of taking care of our obligations.
Looking back, the years kind of went by in a blur. We did develop some wonderful memories of through those years. Then they started reaching college age. Dan was the first, and he insisted on going to iowa university. We had no idea why but didn’t dare ask. And we did enjoy the trips out to see him. Our favorite was a restaurant called the Rowboat. Then two years later Julie graduated high school and was off to college. Financially it seemed like I was sending my paycheck to a school, and we lived off Martha’s income. To help ease the burden, Julie went two years to Rock Valley Junior college here in Rockford. Then she applied to Purdue University and was accepted. She graduated on time, as it was time for Stacey. Stacey applied to Purdue and was accepted. She graduated in four years.
We thought we would have a break, but then they all decided to get married. The common thought was that Dan’s marriage would be a freebee for us. Not so, we ended up paying on all three weddings. For Dan’s it was for the band and the rehearsal dinner.
The day after Stacey’s wedding Martha and I set down and went over our financial position. It turned out we didn’t have a nickel to our name. The good news was, we didn’t owe anyone either. We just opened a bottle of wine and toasted our having reached those major milestones.
