Clarity 1960-1986

Since much of what I'm dealing with has been a result of the things I've done and chosen in my adult life, I'm obviously not going to tell my life story here.

I had a very nice, secure childhood, raised by parents who somehow still top my Most Admired list to this day. My mother really must be on the way to sainthood, considering the many things I did as a child and teenager. Trust me. They were good. I was raised well. I think that will suffice. My adult life is more pertinent to this blog.

I met my wife, B., back in 1978. I was 18, she was just 15. We were not boyfriend/girlfriend for some years to come. In fact, my first contact with B. came about as a result of my crush on her older sister...call her Sue Mac. B. and I became friends rather quickly, and she even tried to offer tips on how I could win over Sue Mac's heart.

We remained friends during that time when I lived for, and got over my crush on Sue Mac, although she is still one of my very closest and loved friends in the world to this day. B. and I stayed close, and began dating in 1981.

It was always a very tempestuous, passionate relationship between she and I. We loved hard, fought hard and reconciled well. We developed an incredibly tight bond between us, one that made me realize that this was a woman with whom I'd very much like to explore life beyond "dating".

She was a little more anxious than I to be married. It was often joked that I was simply holding out as long as I could with her, until surrender to the Altar became inevitable. B. had a very simple, old-fashioned plan for her own life: she would be a wife and mother. There was just no other way to live in her eyes. I was still a bit immature, and very much enjoying my frat-boy style life that, for me, had come about after college.

I had been the very first one in my family to complete a college education, receiving my Bachelors in 1983. Upon completion of the degree, I took a full-time position with the company I'd been serving summer internships with. The pay was good. I was still living in my parents' home at that point, so I was really enjoying being unattached, single, prosperous and responsibility-free.

I wasn't stupid for too long, though. Once I was reasonably sure that I'd found a career to love, I turned my attention to a life with the woman I'd fallen very deeply for. We were married in 1986.