Celebrating Birthday Week!

Tomorrow is Les' birthday.  We'll be taking our bikes to Ventura to escape the heat and ride 100 kilometers.  I'll have a full report on that later this week.  Since we'll be gone most of the day, I decided to make his cake yesterday.  His request was German chocolate cake and homemade vanilla ice cream.  We sampled both last night and they were off the charts!  

 

Of course I can't celebrate Les' birthday without remembering the day BEFORE his 28th birthday.  The day he met me!   He told his version last year at the Hawaii District Marriage Retreat:

I first remember seeing Kathy coming out of her brother's car Friday night of camp meeting, August 18, 1989.  I thought she was the most beautiful girl in the world.  I didn't meet her then, but after church service I was introduced to her.  Later that evening we went out to eat as a group and were at the restaurant at midnight when it became my birthday and Kathy and the group sang "Happy birthday to me."  What a lady, what a night!

My version is quite a bit longer!  I've posted our story many times here on the blog, but for those of you who don't want to take the time to find it, here is it:

March 23, 1989 was the last night of Youth Convention in Bakersfield. This was the only night I had gone that year. I had driven down with my friend, Yvonne. Shortly after service, I was asked out by a young man that I had met the previous weekend. He was visiting from another church in another state (and that's all the details you're gonna get about him!)

Yvonne and I had wandered off on our own when our friend, Bro. Lee Wilson, came up. He was very excited to introduce us to a young man he had met while he and his family were evangelizing. A very funny exchange occurred at this point:

Me: "I'm already going out with someone"
Bro. Wilson: "Just come on, you never know"

I repeated these same words over and over as Yvonne and I followed him from one side of the lobby to the other. I was not convinced that I needed to meet anyone else that night. Although I knew my friends were getting concerned since I was soon to be TWENTY FIVE AND NOT MARRIED!! Oh my!! I obviously needed help!!

An exchange that lasted mere seconds occurred. I was introduced to Les McElhaney, but I had it in my mind, "I'm not interested, I'm already going out with someone else." And that was the end of it! Or so I thought! Yvonne and Bro. Wilson's wife, Ruby, were shocked at how rude I was! To tell you how brief our meeting was, Les doesn't even remember it!! What I didn't know until months later, Les was currently driving a Corvette and he had money in his wallet should a date opportunity arise!! (Anyone that knows Les, knows that money in his wallet is a rarity, but that's another story for another time!)

And now for THE REST OF THE STORY (taken from Our Anniversary... kinda, in a way, posted on August 18, 2008):

 
 

August 18, 1989 was the final night of Camp Meeting in Santa Maria. I had gone for the week and was planning on staying for Senior Camp which started the next day. This was my final year of eligibility as a camper, having turned 25 the previous April.

After service, my friend Yvonne and I were talking to Ruby Wilson when we spotted "him". His name was Les McElhaney and I had been introduced (briefly) to him at Youth Convention the previous March. At Youth Convention I was already going out with someone else, so I wasn't extremely friendly to Les - much to Yvonne and Ruby's dismay! This time, I was "free" and decided to thank God for second chances! When Les didn't even remember meeting me, I was happy to start over! This night was the beginning of something very special that eventually led to our marriage on May 25, 1991.

We spent all week of Senior Camp getting acquainted and finding out our common likes and dislikes. Because I had been a Senior Camp fixture for so many years, and Les was actually on the staff, the rest of the staff was very kind to let us stay out later than usual getting to know each other. I remember Bro. Harvey Cantrell coming by, shining his giant flashlight on us, smiling and letting us continue sitting there!! And the Hoppers helped me out when a certain pest from Fresno wanted to sit in on all our conversations!

And that's the whole story! A brief meeting, a second chance, and a lifetime of love! I'm still glad I met Les 20 years ago today, even though he doesn't remember me!! 

*It's been over 30 years now and I'm happier than ever!  2020 has us doing things a little differently, but even behind our masks, we're happiest together.