And so, with God’s help, we raised our family. Living out the struggles of every day life…along with dealing with 3 acutely ill boys. We tended to balance each other out very well. We innately knew when the other’s method was the one to follow…and we would let them take the lead. In the times I was more knowledgeable, I would lead. In the times when thinking and planning were the most important, he would lead. Which is the way I think it should be. Because God was so gracious to allow me to complete nursing school before we had children, I was usually in charge of medical matters. The myriad of things that everyday life entails…house, cars, insurance, bill paying….those were all handled by Don.

To share a little bit of the reality of everyday life with the Owens’…When I had my first kidney stone…I knew nothing more than the fact that something inside of me was running rampant and wreaking havoc and coming nigh on to causing me to scream bloody murder and alert everyone within the city limits. Don calmly watched this agonizing display of raw emotion, and encouraged me to take an aspirin and come sit on the couch with him so he could RUB MY BACK. He still does not know how close he came that evening to losing quite a few of his marbles. When I finally convinced him that I was in need of medical help…NOW!!…he went to the bedroom to get ready. I waited and waited and waited. Finally, I sent Adam to see what was holding him up. People….he was in the shower! Now, I had been living with this man for over 20 years by now…and this I knew. He NEVER takes less than a 20 minute shower. NEVER.
Not even if his wife is in labor and waiting to go to the hospital to deliver their child. Because we all know how important it is for a new father to be clean shaven and smelling good when he ‘helps’ his wife deliver this bundle of joy. You know…first impressions and all. Anyway…Back to the ‘stone story.’ I hated the thoughts of dying right in the middle of our great room….but we were surely headed in that direction. Now, I was mad, as well as near death. I told Adam…17 at the time…to help me get in his car. “Mom. you can’t drive…you are hurting too bad.” “I am not going to drive…YOU are!”I shouted through the pain. “You mean you are not going to wait for Daddy?” “If I wait for Daddy, you are going to be raised by a single parent! Let’s go!” And we did. By the time Don was finished and was ready to go, I was already being hooked up to an IV pushing glorious drugs into my system. When Don got there, I told him I was sorry, but we had to start the party without him. They ended up doing surgery the next day. And now, if I even mention ‘kidney stone’ he goes and gets the car warmed up and headed in the direction of the nearest hospital. Smart man!
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Come on back…part 3 will tell you where I’m going with these posts!

As we have covered in previous posts, and as those of you who know me will attest, I AM NOT A PATIENT PERSON. When I have a great idea, which, for the record, is quite often,(in my humble opinion), I want to run with it….RIGHT THEN. Why wait? Good idea? Just go ahead and do it? No reason to think or talk or plan it to death…just GO! Now, in all honestly, I have no problem living my life this way….but, in reality…it has the possibility of getting a body in deep do-do. I am perfectly happy, then, to find my way out of the stink, and take a new path. And another, if need be. However, by then I can be in so deep, it is kinda hard to see which way to go. That is the point at which I will call for reinforcements…because what are reinforcements for, anyway, except to reinforce my original great idea!

God, indeed, has a sense of humor. Otherwise, why would He have brought my DH and I together…to live as one, til death do us part? There is no part of my spirit that is in anyway remotely like DH. Where I am loud…he us quiet. Where I am a doer…he is a thinker. Where I am patience challenged…he is a brother to Job. Where I am plunge ahead and get it done…he is think about it, make a plan, write it down, research all the facts, study them…let them marinate in your mind for a while…weeks, month…years. Then when he finds peace about the situation and revels in that for a season…then and only then go ahead and do it!

Now, I have to say this, because I do not want to leave the wrong impression. He rarely makes a mistake. How could he? Every scenario under God’s great sky has been considered. And I mean EVERY. POSSIBLE. SCENARIO. If you ever have an hour or ten to kill, ask him a question about a subject he has been thinking on. He can look at a situation more ways than you could ever imagine. And, his delight is in sharing this wisdom with you. And, he is mostly right, but a body has to listen for such..a..looooooong..time. Raising 3 boys, and all the fun and frivolity that entails, would frequently call for a time of discipline with Dad when he got home. Don firmly believed, as did I, that it was always important that the boys knew exactly WHY the correction was necessary before said correction actually took place. Now, friends, this was something I could cover in four sentences. 1.’Do you know what you did wrong?’…2.’What should you have done?’…3.’What will you do next time?’…4.’Bend over’. Commence with correction. Be done with it, and let’s all get happy again. Total time spent on the unpleasantness…5 minutes…depending on how many boys were involved. With DH in charge, the whole recollection/teaching/discussion/correction process could take an hour or longer. The boys used to say, “Daddy, please just go ahead and spank me…I deserve it…let’s just don’t talk about it.” This wouldn’t work, however, because Don had already been thinking of the ‘words of wisdom’ that the situation called for, and he felt led to share them all…one by one…for as long as it took for he and the ‘boy of the moment’ to see eye to eye. And, again, in the light of full disclosure…when Don finished up this sometimes nightly ritual, he and his little men were in one accord and peace reigned in the kingdom.
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Come back for Part 2…tomorrow. This really is leading somewhere…..

Words to teach,
Words to chasten,
Words of peace.

Words to comfort,
Words of cheer,
Words to remember
Words so dear. ……Tonja…..2/16/08…..

Just a word of thanks to my husband. He works very hard, and is committed to running our business with Christian principles. He is a tough taskmaster, but very fair. He appreciates his customers and lets them know it. His employees respect him. He designed and built a state-of-the-art new store 7 years ago. We sell motorcycles, ATV’s, and watercraft, as well as accessories. My Pop started this business over 50 years ago, selling only 1 brand, now we sell 6. Don became owner quite a few years ago, but Pop is still an integral part of the business. The plans are for Ian to come in when he completes his Master’s in May.

For the last 4 years, Donald has been selected as one of the “Top 100 Dealers” in the country. He is at the convention now, and has just called me to say that he was in the top 5! That is amazing news!

God has blessed our business tremendously, and in turn, we have used our business to bless others. It has prospered through His grace, and Don, with God’s help, has continued to guide it to grow and prosper even more. This is not something we take lightly. God has been very good to us and to Him goes all the glory!

“Thank-you, God.” “Thank-you, Don.”

As I had told you, I was home sick yesterday..wallowing in misery…feeling awful.
When Don got home, though, even in my sick and weakened state, I could tell something was up. He came into the room, with that little boy, kinda guilty look on his face…you know what kind of face I’m talking about. “Well, I did it!, ” he said. Words that cause a catch in my heart. “What did you do?” I asked sweetly. “I went ahead and did it, ” he said again. Obviously, he was stalling. (Now, let me say that my DH is not one to do things frivolously. He is the most logical, think-things-through kind of guy. He NEVER buys things on impulse…he never DOES things on impulse. Actually, he likes to talk things through…backwards and forwards…up one side and down the other…and upside down…again and again and again. And the only thing we have been MAJOR discussing lately were the house plans. So, I had no idea where this confession was going.) “Donald,” I said, “just go ahead and tell me what you did.” So he starts in on this long list of events that started yesterday morning. I heard every step he took and every word he spoke leading up to 1:00 yesterday afternoon. Whereupon he departed from our town with my Pop and a good friend of his, and set his sites on Lake Eufaula. Now in this area of the country, this is THE place to fish. And, he loves to fish, and Pop loves to fish, and my boys love to fish. And his good friend had bought a place at said Lake a few months ago. Well, this good friend had heard about a place that had just become available and it would be just “perfect” for Don and the guys. So naturally, they went up to see it. And, according to Donald, “it was everything I had ever wanted in a lake place.” So, he did it! He bought it …on the spot…right then and there! It is a mobile home…3 BR..2 Baths…central air….fully furnished…new beds and furniture…fully equipped kitchen, large covered deck with nice furniture, washer and dryer, t.v. He says, “I thought you wouldn’t want to have to worry about doing all that stuff, so I thought this would make it easier on you.” RIII-IGHT! Now, I am not a person who enjoys the lake. There is nothing happening there. It is sooo quiet….too quiet. There is nowhere to go. Nothing close by. No where to go out and eat. I do not like to swim in the lake and there is no where to lay out. Give me the beach any day. But, this was not about me…this was about him and the boys and Pop. And, they are all like a bunch of little boys talking about their first camping trip. They love to go and sit in the boat and hunt down the fish, and convince the fish to catch hold of their lines, then clean the fish, and cook the fish and eat the fish. And that, to them , is a fine way to spend the day…and the next day…and the next. I could lose my mind! ANYWAY…HE DID IT! He signed the papers this morning, and he has a lake place. And, I am happy for him, and the boys and Pop, and the rest of the male members of the family. I think that anything that keeps the family spending time together and gives them a wholesome, relaxing activity to participate in is great. They can leave the boats there and take the watercraft down with them. And, they’ll have a ball. So, all is well, he is happy…and I am happy he is happy! But, as I told him…this does not mean that is vacation central for us now. We still have to make our annual trek to the beach! And I got his promise on that!