Mary Anne was married to Jerry the love of her life, for 30 years until death separated them. He was a sailor who worked as an engineer and was away from home quite often. Mary Anne was a teacher and raised their three children almost by herself. Jerry loved the sea since he was a small boy. He dreamt that he would work on a ship one day and he did.
However, he missed his wife and children terribly while he was at sea. From time to time he even thought about leaving his job on the ship and finding a new job so he could spend more time with his family. But he kept postponing it because he earned a good salary that paid for his children’s education and his family’s comfortable lifestyle.
Jerry knew this job wouldn’t last forever. Working on a ship is very difficult and requires sailors to be at sea for months at a time. It can sometimes be dangerous and they are exposed to many risks due to water conditions, shipwrecks, sinking, falling overboard, and piracy.
Nevertheless, Mary Anne and Jerry met in a pub when she came to celebrate her birthday with a friend. Jerry was sitting in the pub with a friend who was also his colleague on the ship. The two young men just returned home to Victoria on Vancouver Island after serving a lengthy period of time at sea.
Jerry liked Mary Anne the moment he saw her. With his friend’s encouragement, he walked over and started talking with her. On the other hand, Mary Anne wasn’t too impressed by his appearance. Jerry was a bit clumsy and not particularly handsome. In addition, he had poor taste in clothes. He was a large man and the clothes he wore seemed to be a size too small, which made her friend laugh when she saw him.
But once they started talking, she noticed he was very charming. He was quite intelligent along with a great sense of humor, and she liked him. But Mary Anne had just broken up a complicated long term relationship and wasn’t ready to start another one at that time. Even more so after she heard what he did for a living. Yet fate had other plans.
They started seeing each other and quickly fall in love. A few months later, Jerry proposed to Mary Anne. Although Mary Anne’s family liked Jerry very much, they thought it would be a huge mistake for her to accept his proposal. They kept warning her that she would stay alone most of her life and would raise their children alone as a single mother if she married him.
Mary knew very well they were right but decided to accept his proposal anyway. The couple got married at a low key wedding. They celebrated the joyous event with their own immediate families and a few friends. Mary Anne was an only child. Her parents attended the wedding along with 3 or 4 close friends. However, Jerry is the youngest of 5 children. His siblings are all married, and each of them attended the ceremony. In addition, some of his friends from the ship he worked on were also there.
Jerry had to leave for the sea two weeks after the wedding. Waiting for the love of her life to return home was always very difficult for Mary Anne. On the other hand, every time he came home, it was as though they were on their honeymoon again. They barely fought and took advantage of every moment he wasn’t at sea to be together. Their friends and family would give them the space they needed when Jerry returned home.
They decided they wanted to build a family together about a year after they got married. Unfortunately, this didn’t work out at first. Thus Mary Anne went to see a doctor who sent her for some tests. When the results came back, he told her everything was perfect, and she didn’t have any medical issues. He suggested that Jerry should also have himself checked to be sure he didn’t have a medical problem.
After undergoing testing, Jerry was also told everything was fine. They tried to have children for three years, without success. After the end of the third year, Mary Anne underwent fertility treatments. They welcomed twin girls after four years of marriage. Jerry missed their birth as he was away at sea at the time.
He saw his baby girls for the first time a month later and was incredibly proud. He knew what his wife went through to have the babies and was grateful for all her efforts. He would take them out for a walk in their stroller around the neighborhood and always had a grin on his face from ear to ear. He would show them off to anyone who passed by and would say “look at how beautiful they are. Thank God they look like their mother and not like me.”……. 🙂
With Experience Comes Wisdom 