201501116.001 FRIDAY - A VERY SPECIAL DAY

20150116.001 FRIDAY - A VERY SPECIAL DAY

It has been a long long time.  Too long as far as some may be concerned and not long enough as far as others may consider it.  But, nonetheless, I am back writing and I hope that I can actually pick back up and be more consistent in this endeavor.

TODAY is a very special day.  You see, I have a difficult time remember important things.  In one of the student churches I serve in Seminary, one of my church members called me the absent minded professor. She, of course, did it in jest, but there was a kernel of truth behind it.  Those who know me also know that I have a mind and a memory like a colander.  What goes in often times drains out faster than what anyone thought it could.  Of course, in the same vein, I actually have a great memory when it comes to numbers or rhythms or music.  It was because of that poor memory of not remembering important things and the good memory of numbers that today, January 16th, became such a special day.

For me, realizing that I have a poor memory and the continual fears of forgetting various anniversaries I chose January 16th ( The day before my birthday) to be the day that I proposed to Kate (Kathleen Evelyn Kerlin) - my soul mate. We were still in Seminary, albeit it was the last semester of Seminary.  And it was the time that is known as “Minister’s Week.”  “Minister’s Week” was a time for certain speakers to come and speak on a specific theme. And on the evening of January 16th, the first day of “Minister’s Week” everyone was to gather for a catered dinner.  And so here is what I planned.  I had asked one of my friends, Michael Oberlender, to go and get me a rose.  I already had the ring because Kate knew that I would at some point be proposing (let’s face it, we planned things a bit too much during that time in our lives! LOL!) and so she had given me the ring to hold. My plan was to tie the ring to the rose and during the dinner, in front of everyone who had gathered, I would get down on one knee and sing Dites Moi.  (for those of you who are not familiar to the song, here is a clip http://youtu.be/2W4o4VM2Kbc) It was a great plan except for a few things.  Micheal couldn’t get a rose for me. Which was actually a good thing in 20/20 hind sight because I later found out that Kate was allergic to roses! The end result was, after finding out that Michael couldn’t get me the rose and we were getting close to needing to leave for the dinner. I stuck my hand in my pocket, felt the ring box and decided then and there to propose.  So I went down on one knee and sang to Kate in front of her computer. She laughed and said, “How romantic!  Because we first met in front of the computers in undergraduate." And I said, “Oh, well I planned it that way” And she smiled and said, no you didn’t! And then we both laughed and life was good and she said, YES!

So, As you walk through your life today, if you can imagine a young person on bended knee before the person of their dreams and they happen to be singing Dites Moi, smile, then know that 19 years ago I was moved to sing that song to my soul mate!

Blessings Always! - D E L

TRANSLATION: Dites-Moi (Tell me)

Dites-moi (Tell me)  Pourquoi (Why) 
La vie est belle, (Life is beautiful?)
Dies-moi (Tell me)  Pourquoi (Why)
La vie est gai, (Life is gay?)
Dites-moi (Tell me)  Pourquoi, (Why)
Chere Mad'moiselle, (Dear Miss?)
Est-ce que (Is it) Parce que (Because)
Vous m'aimez? (You love me?)

(Translation taken from http://lyricstranslate.com/en/dites-moi-tell-me.html#ixzz3Oxc9in4n)