It is funny looking back. I was a confirmed bachelor. No woman was going to catch me. Not that I was a womanizer or anything. Far from it. I just had no need for women. No need for dating or anything like that. I just liked to be a ski bum in the winter and do water sports in the summer. Oh sure. I loved my job. And the lifestyle it afforded. I could have wined and dined women. But what for? They would just tell me to settle down. Settle down! What for?

That was my attitude. I was my own man. I went my own way. Always. Nobody got to tell me what to do. Nosirree Bob. Nobody told me what to do. Ever.

Until I met Maureen.

* It is funny the things you remember. I was skiing one spring day. The sun was shining. The snow was slushy. It was so warm, I was wearing shorts. And I was not the only one. There were several people in shorts or even swimming suits. Some had ski bibs on bottom. Some, like me just had shorts and a T-shirt. I went into the lodge to grab some lunch. It was crowded. A mass of humanity. Pushing and shoving and shoving and pushing. Mostly because people were wearing ski boots or snow board boots. So they clomped around and did not have much agility. Just like me. I was looking down trying to make sure I did not step on anybody’s feet. Or worse. Kick anybody’s feet out from under them. The wet floor and awkward footgear made walking treacherous. I had grabbed my food and was heading out to eat in the sunshine when I nearly slipped and fell. I must have done some fancy footwork because everybody in the lodge was looking at me when I did not fall. That was when I saw her. Maureen was all the way across the room, but I saw her sitting there with a smile. I looked into her eyes and the only thought I had was that I had to meet her. Okay. The other thought I had was that I had to marry her. Right. Marry a woman that I had never seen until that day. We gazed at each other from across the room and I felt as if I was being pulled directly to her with a tractor beam. She was talking, but her eyes never left mine. She smiled and even laughed a time or two in the time it took for me to get across the sea of people. Now, if I was going to write a scene for a movie, I would have had the people part like the Red Sea, but that was definitely not what happened. Instead, I fought the crowd for every inch. I was not rude or anything, I just made sure that my eyes never left those of the mystery woman. And she obliged by keeping her eyes on mine. When I finally got to the table where she was sitting, she was laughing. One of her companions had said something about tractor beams. “I was definitely drawn here by a tractor beam,” I agreed. I smiled as my mystery woman laughed some more. I reached out my hand. “I’m Johnny. Johnny Beamer.” I blushed. She and her friends laughed even louder. She smiled at me. “I’m Maureen.” “And I’m Babs and this is Trish and this is Colleen. And now that you’ve met us all, time to shove off bub.” “Ah c’mon Babs. He’s kinda cute. In a geeky sorta way.” I found out later it was Trish, but I still only saw Maureen’s eyes. “And focused,” Colleen added. She waved her hand in front of my face, but I just kept Maureen’s gaze. And more importantly, she kept her gaze on me too. “Okay bub, you’re making me nervous how you’re ogling our sister. What’s your deal?” I kept looking at Maureen and answered Babs. “I was pulled here by her tractor beam. Just like I said.” Then I addressed Maureen, “I was just wondering what you’re doing for the rest of your life. Because all I know is that I belong to you. From now until forever.” The three sisters laughed. Maureen just kept looking at me. Colleen stopped laughing. “Okay, so if you’re so taken with Maureen, what is she wearing? Does she have a wedding ring? An engagement ring? A tan?” She waved her hand in front of my face again. “I have no idea about any of those things. I just know that Maureen has the bluest eyes I have ever seen. I could swim in those deep pools of blue forever.” I never looked away. *

Sixty years later, I am still swimming in those deep blue eyes. Maureen and I have belonged to each other from the moment we locked eyes in that ski lodge. Sixty years, five children, seventeen grandchildren, and seven great grandchildren later, we are still going strong. Oh sure. We have had some rough times. Times that would break many couples. But I remember what a friend of mine used to tell me long before I met Maureen.

“Love is not a feeling as some would have you believe. Love is a choice. A choice you make every day. And if you remember that, you can weather any storm. Your love will endure.”

Our love has endured. It will continue to endure. Through thick and thin. Through good and bad. Our love will endure because it is a choice we make every day. Every single day, we choose to love each other.

By the way…. If you’re wondering… Maureen was wearing a one piece bathing suit under ski bibs that day. But I never noticed it until I crashed on the first run we took together. I could not ski very well looking into her deep blue eyes. It is funny the things you remember.