The Love Story of Nancy & Karl
A family keepsake for our children, grandchildren,
and generations yet to come
“The ordinary moments became the most precious moments of all.”
With love,
Nancy & Karl
A story of faith, laughter, companionship, and a lifetime of choosing each other.
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To Our Children and Grandchildren
Someday, when you think about us, we hope you remember more than our names, our photographs, or the places we lived. We hope you remember how much we loved each other.
Our life together was never about being perfect. It was made beautiful by thousands of ordinary moments laughing together, taking care of each other, sharing meals, staying up much too late, praying side by side,and thanking God for another day together.
Those little moments became our wonderful life.
Our Evenings Together
Retirement gave us a precious gift: time. We no longer had to live by everyone else’s clock. We could stay up late, sleep late, and enjoy being together. Most evenings around 8:30, we settled down for our special “together time.” Sometimes we watched a movie, and sometimes we caught up on the news and the day’s events. What was on television was never the most important part. What mattered was that Nancy and Karl were together. Later, we had a little computer and phone time. Before the night was over, though, we came back together for something much more important: Bible study and prayer. Our faith was part of our marriage and part of our home. Through good times and difficult ones, we knew we could turn to God – and we could turn to each other.
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Midnight With Karl Then came bedtime – or at least what most people would call bedtime! Nancy would take her shower while Karl started walking around the house, getting his steps in. Karl especially liked it when midnight arrived because the phone’s step counter started a brand-new day. There were fresh steps to be counted! That was Karl. Always moving.
Eventually Karl took his shower, and afterward Nancy would towel him off and rub his favorite UNKERS ointment wherever he happened to hurt that day. It wasn’t glamorous, and it wasn’t the sort of thing usually shown in a romantic movie. But it was love. As the years passed, we learned that some of the greatest expressions of love are simply taking care of one another.
Our Bedtime Prayer Finally, somewhere between 1:30 and 2:30 in the morning, we would climb into bed and snuggle together. But we weren’t finished yet! We would raise the head of our adjustable bed and turn on what we affectionately called the “shaker button.”
Then, together, we prayed the Lord’s Prayer. After about five minutes, the shaker went off, the room became quiet, and another day together came to an end. There was something beautiful about ending the day the same way – side by side, thanking God and praying together.
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Mornings at Our House
Nancy usually slept eight or nine hours and often didn’t wake until around 10:00 in the morning. Karl’s nights could be a little more interesting! Sometimes he dreamed, talked in his sleep, moved around, or nearly fell out of bed. Other times he quietly got up to use the bathroom, trying his best not to wake Nancy. Often, the second half of his night was spent sleeping in his Lazyboy chair. Eventually morning – or perhaps we should say late morning – arrived. And another day together began. Karl even liked helping Nancy get dressed, including fastening her bra. We’ll leave it to our children and grandchildren to decide just how much of a sacrifice that was for Karl! Ha! Breakfast Made With Love Once everyone was awake, Karl started his walking and stair-stepper exercises, and we decided what to have for breakfast. Most mornings, Karl cooked.
And Nancy wants future generations to know one important fact:
Karl’s omelettes were AWESOME!
While Karl cooked, Nancy helped by getting out the dishes and drinks and preparing the day’s vitamins and prescriptions. It was another example of how we lived our marriage: one cooked, one prepared, one needed help sometimes, and the other helped. Then the roles might reverse. We simply took care of each other.
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Sundays Were Different
Sunday mornings required something unusual in our retired household: an alarm clock! We had to get up earlier so we could make it to church on time. Church, Bible study, prayer, and our faith in God were important parts of the life we shared. We hope that is something our family will always remember about us. What We Hope You Remember Dear children and grandchildren, as you go through your own lives, you will discover that love changes over
the years. Young love may be filled with excitement and dreams about the future. But there is another kind of love that comes later. It is quieter. Deeper. Stronger. It’s knowing what makes the other person laugh. It’s cooking their favorite breakfast. It’s helping them when
their body doesn’t work quite like it once did. It’s rubbing ointment on an aching shoulder or back. It’s laughing about the silly things that happen when you’re growing older.
It’s saying, “I’ll take care of you.” And then doing it. Most importantly, it’s bowing your heads together at the end of another day and thanking God that you’re still beside one another. That was the love between Nancy and Karl
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