Love

Saying "I Do" in '92

17 years ago today, on a hot December day in 1992, I married an amazing lady.

Pauline and I met in the January of 1992 and were married in the December. Once we got engaged, half way through the year, we couldn’t stand the thought of having to wait until ‘next year’ to be husband and wife, so we picked a date in the last month of the year and started planning.

I’m still hopelessly in love with Pauline and plan to stay that way for the rest of my days.

How we met

I told the story of how we met quite some time ago on this blog and figure that on a wonderful day such as this, it’s worth repeating.

Around December 1991 and January 1992 I was spending a bit of time with a young lady . She was invited to a big picnic event at the Claremont Showgrounds by a friend. My friend asked if she could bring someone else. The someone else was me.

On the day of the event, I picked up my friend and we headed over to pick up one of Pauline’s sisters, who was the person who’d invited us. We got to Pauline’s parents’ home and were invited in.

I met Pauline in her mum’s kitchen. She was, and still is, incredibly beautiful. I was gone right from that moment.

Pauline and her mum were looking at photos from a family wedding they had recently been to in Queensland. I thought that the photos must have been from Pauline’s wedding and I thought, “I’m too late”. After quickly checking Pauline’s ring finger I realised that wasn’t the case. I thought at the time that it was probably inappropriate to be thinking that way. As I mentioned before, the lady I was there with was only a friend but it did seem like bad form to be so absolutely distracted.

Together with my friend and Pauline’s sister, I got in the car and we headed off.

Meanwhile, Pauline and her mum, who were heading to the same event, got in another car and started towards the showgrounds. Apparently Pauline said something in the car to her mother to the effect that it was a shame that all of the good ones were taken. Pauline obviously hadn’t checked my ring finger and thought that I was a married man. Her mum told her that my friend and I weren’t married and in fact, as far as she knew, we weren’t even an item.

We managed to catch up at lunchtime at the showgrounds and chatted for a little while. I was smitten to say the least.

It actually took another couple of months for us to get together but once we did we started talking about marriage very quickly. By the middle of the year I was convinced that I was not just in love but that I was prepared to commit my life to Pauline, to love her no matter what for the rest of our days. I asked, she said yes, we got hitched.

As a bit of a joke I came up with the motto, “Say ‘I Do’ in ’92″ in late 1991. As it turned out it wasn’t so much a joke as a wonderful reality.

Seventeen years later and my love continues to burn brightly for my incredible bride.

Happy 17th Anniversary to the most wonderful woman I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing.

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The Building Blocks of a Good Marriage

Feb 24th, 2009

by Rodney Olsen.

5 comments

According to Australian Family First senator Steve Fielding, divorce adds to the impact of global warming as couples switch to wasteful single lifestyles.

His claims were highlighted today in the News.com.au story, Divorce adds to climate change says Family First senator Steve Fielding.

We understand that there is a social problem (with divorce), but now we’re seeing there is also environmental impact as well on the footprint.

He’s certainly got a point. If divorce means that families that once occupied one household are now split between two homes, they will be using up more resources than if they stayed together.

While I think there is merit in looking after the planet, I think there are far greater reasons to keep marriages together. I understand that it may not always be possible and that many readers already know the pain of divorce. Although I’ve never experienced it I know that it must be a devastating experience and that there aren’t too many people who would take such a step lightly.

So if we’re to keep marriages together, even turning difficult marriages around, we need to go back to basics and understand the building blocks of marriage and our part in keeping a relationship not only alive but thriving and growing.

Once a fortnight during my morning radio programme on 98.5 Sonshine FM I chat to Rob Furlong about relationships of various kinds. We discuss how to develop better relationships. The only person we can truly control in our relationships is our self so we also discuss ways to move forward personally so that we can bring everything we should to a relationship.

This morning we started discussing the building blocks of marriage. Today’s segment was just the beginning in a journey that we’ll take over the coming months as we seek to look at the most important characteristics of a good, solid marriage.

If you’d like to hear what Rob has to say just click the play button on the audio player at the bottom of this post.

What do you think are the essentials of a good marriage? Are there things you know now that you wish you’d known before you married? If you’re single, how are you discovering what you need to know to equip you for marriage?

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Sweet Sixteen

Dec 12th, 2008

by Rodney Olsen.

3 comments

Sixteen years ago today I said, “I do.”

In January 1992 I met the most wonderful woman I’ve ever known and in December of the same year I watched her walk down the aisle and promise to love me for life.

I love Pauline more and more as each year passes.

It’s hard to believe that I could find someone so amazing; someone who was prepared to commit herself to travelling life’s roads with me no matter what the journey would bring.

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Romancing your spouse

Oct 7th, 2008

by Rodney Olsen.

5 comments

Today’s challenge is to pick a couple of items (or more) from the list and put them into action.

Christianity Today has published a list writen by Jill Savage titled The Most (Unusual) Romantic Things. It’s a list of 20 simple ideas that will help you let your ‘significant other’ that you’re thinking of them. Go on … check out the list and get started.

We can get so caught up thinking that romance is all about the big gestures that we forget about the little things that say ‘I love you’. I spotted a few things on the list that I’m already doing and a few that I should start doing.

I’d love to get your comments and ideas for a few more simple things that will help keep romance alive. What are the little things you do that communicate your love? What little things does your spouse do that remind you that you are loved? What are the little things you wish your spouse would do for you?

Thanks to Bowden McElroy for pointing me to the article.

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Valentine's Day 2008

Feb 14th, 2008

by Rodney Olsen.

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It’s a day for love and a day for florists and chocolate retailers.

Have you ever wondered why we celebrate Valentine’s Day? Do you know who Saint Valentine was?

Did you know that Saint Valentine was executed because he stood up for marriage and commitment? That’s a long way from the kind of superficial love that seems to be highlighted on this day each year.

I remember as a single guy many years ago sending out half a dozen or more anonymous cards and then just hoping that there might be one or two waiting for me in my letterbox.

These days there’s just one Valentine for me. I tell Pauline that I love her every day but I still enjoy having a reason to declare my affections and to give her a few small gifts.

What does Valentine’s Day mean for you? Do you have any funny Valentine’s stories?

I remember receiving thanks from a friend for the Valentine’s gift that I delivered to her door in the early hours of February the 14th around 20 years ago. Only problem was that I didn’t deliver it. It wasn’t from me. No matter how much I tried to convince her that it wasn’t me, she just smiled and continued to thank me. I still wonder to this day who the poor guy was that selected such a lovely gift, secretly delivered it, and then got no recognition for it at all.