Thirty Reasons I Love This Woman, # 24 The Tooth

Such a beautiful smile
With her big blue eyes
And pearly whites, all the while
Closed mouth to the camera spies

 She thought it very unsightly
There in the corner of her mouth
One tooth misaligned slightly
Led her appearance to doubt

Though endearing to me, the dentists came by
And put in bridges, crowns and such
No longer camera shy
For the camera she smiles very much

Her appearance is something she cares about
And I love her for that

Thirty Reasons I Love This Woman, # 25 Who Comed Over

 A mid -summer day

Bonnie and the toddler
On the front porch step
Re-telling the story
About that snowy January day
We brought her home
From the adoption agency

“Who comed over?” asked Sara
“Oh, everybody came to see
The wonderful new baby.”
She re-told about the grandmothers
And aunts, uncle, neighbors, and friends
And how they were all delighted
To see the new baby

She cares about family
I love her for that 

Thirty Reasons I Love This Woman #26 Strong Convictions

 Thirty Reasons I Love This Woman

#26 Strong Convictions

If she is sure that something is wrong or
If she is sure that something is right
She does not change her view
Just because someone, something, or
For that matter, everyone
Says so

This can be quite annoying
Like when she yells at the TV
About something shown
On the evening news

Or lifesaving
Like when she called the neglectful doctor at home
And ordered him to do something, right now
About her husband
Near death in kidney failure

I love her for that

Thirty Reasons I Love This Woman # 27 Animals

Thirty Reasons I Love This Woman

# 27 Animals

She cares about animals

As much as she does people

When I was enlisted to help

Her Dad and Mom ‘cut’ young pigs

She said:

“I can’t stand their squeals of pain”

She loves a good steak, but

She still empathizes with dogs and cats

As if they were human

And pets

As members of the family

I love her for that

Bonnie, Roger, Alfie (Yorkshire Terrier), and Evie

Bonnie and Captain Morgan

Thirty Reasons I Love This Woman - #28 She Loved to Dance

She saw him on the dance floor
At the Dell Rapids Pavilion
He was the best dancer there
When he asked her to dance
She said yes

On her school desk someone had scrawled
“Nigger Lover”
Her Father said:
“Don’t let someone else
Tell you who to dance with.”
The next week she danced with him again
Attitudes were different then
Her wish to dance was not
Unfortunately I am dancing impaired
She loves me anyway
I love her for that

Thirty Reasons I Love This Woman - #29 A Farm Girl

 She was raised on a farm
About halfway between Dell Rapids and Chester

There’s something about farm kids
That makes them easier
To be around
But, I was puzzled that their
Milk was delivered by a milkman
They didn’t have a cow for milk? Still
She could drive a pickup truck
With a manual transmission
And she had driven it that day
To Chester to get her hair done
I love her for that

Thirty Reasons I Love This Woman - #30 Basketball

 Shortly after we met

et

Sixty some years ago
As I struggled to make conversation
She mentioned basketball
She was a big fan
Especially tournaments
So of course I blundered
“Are you going to the ‘State As’?”
The look on her face
Almost contempt
“We’re going to the ‘State Bs’
“No one goes to the ‘State As’”
I would shortly learn the depth
Of her basketball fanaticism
The history of Dell Rapids high school basketball
Including the legendary Riley family
Her love for basketball continues to this day
And culminates each year with March Madness
Though the favored team is now
The UConn Huskies from Connecticut
A women’s team coached by the legendary Geno Auriemma
I love her for that