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I am back today for this brief post only – I expect to be back to regular blogging in another week or so.  I’m trying to be otherwise productive, but am falling short of my goal so far.  But I have spent OODLES of time thinking!  Maybe that’s a good thing for me, but sometimes I wonder. . .

July 1 is a momentous day in our home because today is Hubs’ 69th birthday.  He begins his “Magical Mystery Farewell Tour” to his 60’s. Next year he will celebrate his “three score and ten,” and begin circling the new age bracket in questionnaires.  He will no longer qualify for the “60’s” but will instead be circling the “70’s.”

Here is a photograph of the handsome gentleman with whom I have shared my life for almost 37 years (and known for many more).

Ashley Morgan Calhoun – Born July 1, 1943

I am blessed beyond belief by this extraordinary man, and I could not be more proud to know him, nor more humbled to be loved and cared for and about by such a fine example of a true Christian Gentleman.” This was the poem I wrote for him on this auspicious day.

For Ashley, on His 69th Birthday

And so today you have begun your tour –
The journey you are taking to your three score years and ten,
An age past imagining for your youngest self, perhaps,
But now it seems and feels quite young (that’s what I think!). And when
You gaze into the looking-glass, and think you see the ghost
Of those who’ve gone before you?  Never mind –
It’s only you who sees the face of an old man like your Dad.
The man I see when I look at you has always been defined
Not by wrinkles and graying hair, nor anything seen in a mirror,
But by the person who lives inside – growing wiser, but no older;
The spirit of a child of God, a heart of love and compassion,
The man I fell in love with, the one upon whose shoulder
I still can lean, and find sweet comfort, and feel your gentleness.

The essence of your character, your giving and forgiving soul
Shines like a thousand suns, that warm but never burn.
You might act like a geezer, and complain about the toll
The advancing years are taking on your knees, your hips, your back,
But I will never call you “old” without a smile or laughter
Because I know who you really are inside the shell you see:
You are the man I love, and the one with whom I’ll live happily ever after.

Happy Birthday, my Hubs, my darling, my Ashley!

You have always blessed me with enough. . .