The World of Grandpa Don

The Lady of My Life

Lady Anne
by Don Plefka

Teenage sweethearts, it all started then,
But Anne was in doubt - we parted our ways.
I floundered without her, bouncing about,
At school - the Navy - far away - lost many days.

 A miracle reunited us - a gift from God
My joy was something I could not hide.
Anne gave me a chance to plead my case,
Miracles of miracles - my love was my bride.

My yearnings of years had finally come true,
Anne of my dreams was now my wife.
Considered beyond reach, much too good for me,
My unattainable Anne - now - the Lady of my life.

We started with nothing
Just love, plus faith in each other.
But that was a'plenty
We needed none other.

A basement room was our abode
A table, some chairs,
A refrigerator and stove,
A bed and a bathroom, that's it - and no cares.

This was our castle - It flooded in rain.
What need we of grandeur - what need of that strife,
We had each other and no more was wanted,
I was in heaven with the Lady of my life.

Fortune smiled, we earned and we borrowed.
A small home, alas, was soon ours to be.
And soon with children were we to be blessed.
Their mother stayed home and - two jobs for me.

First Dan then Anne, and Tom on the way
A larger home was needed - then heaven sent.
All was well, this was life as it should be.
For me, my family, my work - I was content.

The love of my life was adored by me.
Anne was the greatest - more than a wife.
She was royalty, the queen of the castle,
High on a pedestal  - the Lady of my life.

But while I was slaving, and loved every minute,
My lady was hurting and, feeling alone.
What more could she want, for it was all just for her,
Maybe some hugs - could I throw her a bone?

Anne battled depression along with ill health,
I was too busy earning money - life was a blur.
she was lacking - but what more could she need?
Everything I did  - I did it for her.

Oh yes I adored her, Anne was the greatest.
I was too enveloped in giving things to my wife,
She had a nice house, three children to love,
But her needs included - a man in her life.

Things got worse before they got better.
With the deaths of parents, we were no longer winning.
There was a need in both of us, where was our faith?
But the need awakened first in Anne - a new beginning.

The doctors told us her heart needed repair.
In God - Anne's faith was placed.
She was reborn in spirit and in body too,
Anne became whole - as in days long retraced. 

Anne's faith and new being was contagious to me,
My heart and mind were turned from my strife.
We were one again, - I was awakened to life,
To the needs and the faith of  - the Lady in my life.

Our final years together,
A wonder to behold.
Selfishness in me,
Was now a trait of old.

There was a dawn of giving - not things - but of self.
There was the dawn of love - kindness given -
Returned in kind, multiplied and more,
Reborn - new soul, new life - a hint of Heaven

Anne regained her pedestal,
Wife, lover, mother and Queen of our life,
Regal in our castle but now with a stair,
For me to climb - to Hug - the Lady of my life.

There has been joy and laughter
Looking back across the years.
Happiness has been paramount
At times  - sprinkled with tears.

Through out it all - and above it all,
My Anne was always firm,
The noble one - showing respect for all
And receiving it in return.

And then quite suddenly she was born again,
This time, Home - to Eternal Life.
But gone she is not - for deep in my heart
She is as always - The Lady of my Life.

Don Plefka – May 15 , 2009

It took years, but I learned that love given is love received and multiplied. Wives need tenderness and loving attention. Passion is as fleeting as it is intense and there must be more than passion to give substance to a marriage. There must be friendship to go along with the unity of purpose. There must be trust and understanding. There must be commitment ... unconditional and mutual.

There will be disagreements but when they occur the individual must ask, "How important is it for me to win this battle?" If a person must win every time there should be no marriage, the person is not suited to it.

I have also come to know that to plan to "change" a person, to remold a lover into the person you want after marriage, is to plan to fail. The attempt will foster only discord and will not succeed. One must love enough to live with faults. But at the same time, expect to change. Life is forever change, adapting to new situations. You will grow ... in faith and in wisdom. Expect, indeed, glory in, giving. The returns are incalculable.

To all of you men who still have a Lady in you life ... (((HUG))) her a lot. Do it while you can. You both need it. For you women who have a man in your life, among everything else, be a Lady to him. You must be special in order to be regarded as such.

The words used at many weddings are not just words ... they are a way of life.

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude.
It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

It took me many years to learn the truth of those words. It was Anne, The Lady of my Life, who helped me to this point of wisdom. Fortunately she lived long enough to see the fruit of the seeds planted in me. As I mourn her loss to me I celebrate the years we had and thank God for them. I will always treasure The Lady in my Life.

© Grandpa Don Plefka
Orland Park, Il
May 15, 2009