Wonder Girl
and the Supermen Clan
My
wonderful granddaughter Caylie got married last spring. Let me back up and
explain to you that I do not use the
word wonderful lightly. Read on.
Caylie has never been your average girl. At
four months old, she, along with her mother Christi, survived the unsurviveable;
a major car wreck involving multiple rolls and flips, with only scratches and
bruises. I measured just how far that
car flipped and rolled. One hundred
yards.
God, I think, already had big plans for
this baby. And, as a young teen, she was already in the mission fields; She began, early on, paying back God’s
investment in her during that one hundred
yards straight from Hell event so many years ago. Ever since, she has always been
a stern and demanding seat belt enforcer in our family.
At six, she always got up on her own,
fixed her own hair, brushed her teeth, and dressed herself, usually allowing time to
read her books before heading off to school. Her parents declared that she only
needed adults around in her life to drive her to school and provide a little
money. There was just no time in her early years to hold down a full time job,
what with Kindergarten and all, but that does not mean she was not capable of
it. She always had everything else pretty well under control all by herself. The
turbulent teen years just passed her
by. They just never happened. Her high standards she always set for herself
were etched in stone early on.
But wait. That’s not all. I’ve been saving
the best for last.
I do not remember ever seeing Caylie angry. I’m sure I must have, common
sense would tell you I have. But it’s not in my memory pool. Of course, I’m
71. My memory pool is a bit shallow on both ends. Her bubbly, bright, smiling, and loving personality just makes all around her love her.
Caylie was
in no big hurry to get a driver’s license. When she finally did, she was
always very slow, always very careful. We all call her our “Granny Driver.”
When her papa Corey was training her, one could often hear him saying, “Caylie,
you need to speed up just a little.” But when her younger brother Christian was
being trained, one could hear a touch of panic edging into Corey’s voice. “Slow this thing down! You just clipped a sign
back there!”
Caylie and Tim Barnett have been hanging
around together for a long time. After they had been together for a year or so,
Tim had a question for his friend, who would later become his best man. “ Do
you think it would be too forward of me to hold her hand?” This story was a
major hit when told much later at a very special event in their lives.
When Caylie, one year older than Tim, was
about to graduate from high school and go off to college, she decided it was
time for her and Tim to have a talk. Tim should be free to fully enjoy his
senior year. The prom, dating, and all that goes with it. Somewhere in the
translation, it didn’t come out just like she had envisioned. Tim did not want
to date anybody else. But he accepted her decision.
“If you’re going to break up with me,
Caylie, we should at least wait until after the prom.” On the big night, it was
difficult to determine who was breaking up with whom. Tim was heartbroken, but
he took it like a man. Caylie was the one who cried all night. When Caylie got
home afterwards, flowers were awaiting her in her room. As Tim later said, “I
wanted to let her know I still wanted her, and I was not angry.”
A
few days later, Caylie graduated. As I walked through the parking lot
afterwards, I saw a large bouquet of flowers on Caylie’s car. I had to smile. The battle was enjoined; Tim’s struggle
to win her back had begun.
Long before she left for college, Caylie
was having major second thoughts. Once she got to Ouachita Baptist University, she soon realized the boys
around her did not measure up to Tim. Soon, she tentatively inquired how Tim
felt about the two of them getting back together. She feared she had messed up;
Tim may have found somebody else.
Tim thought about this for a long time,
then replied, “I will need to pray about this for three days.”
This was a long three days for Caylie,
especially the third day. Walking to her dorm from classes, her head down, she
got a call from Tim. “Where are you, Tim?”
“ In a parking lot somewhere on campus. I
don’t really know where I am.”
When she finally found him, he was by his
car. He had a large bouquet of flowers, her favorite candy, and her favorite
gum. He had one question. “Will you be my girlfriend again?” He handed her a
card after her answer. Written on the card was one word.
Always.
Now, they are Mr. And Mrs. Tim Barnett. They
are both still in college, and that can be a problem financially. But they are
both hard workers, and manage their many sideline jobs, along with college,
really well. They both have their priorities in order. They are proving to all
around them that a young couple, deeply in love, does not require great wealth to
fully enjoy life, and each other.
CONTINUED NEXT POST - COMING UP NEXT, THE SUPERMEN CLAN
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