Three Times A Lady

Of all the human experiences in life falling in love is the euphoria of the human condition. Going through adolescence many experience puppy love and infatuation but not the life changing emotion that is associated with a great love of ones life.  For many this kind of great love only happens once in a lifetime. I guess I am one of the lucky ones to have experienced three times a lady in my lifetime. 

It was the summer of ’67 I was a lifeguard for Conference Point Camp on Lake Geneva. Little did I know how a beautiful young lady could have such a profound affect on the rest of my life. For the rest of that summer we were as one. Then as suddenly as she came into my life she was gone. I learned how to cope with her loss but, her memory has stayed with me all through the years. 

It was years latter I married the mother of my children. Then again after 10 years through more downs than ups we parted ways. I guess it was inevitable. From the onset the deck was stacked against us. After a few years of soul searching it happened again. On a Saturday night in ’83 what a lady and what a night happened to me. 

Little did know that in an instant the mutual spontaneity of attraction that quickly blossomed into the greatest love I had ever known lasted for 4 short years. As her illness progressed I wished I could have done more. After her passing there were others but none could ever replace what she did for me. 

It had been over 12 years of blindly searching for love but, never really finding it. Somehow after those years of trying I ended up in Florida still searching for the last great love  Little did I know that once again love would finally come my way. As luck would have it she was standing right next to me. For weeks I taught her swimming and as she progressed the student quickly became a teacher herself. Now it has been 22 years since those days in the pool . Growing old through the passage of time we have weathered many of life problems but always managed to give love in return. 

Those memories of great joy and ecstasy subdued by the tragedies of life have been tempered by the passage of time . So fortunate I’ve been to have experienced a life filled with jubilation, triumph amidst great sorrow and loss.  Even now in the Autumn of my life I am lucky enough to say three times a lady happened to me.