Paul and I married June 18, 1955 – he was a senior at Luther College, I was a sophomore. We spent our wedding money on tuition, plus Paul worked for Jacobson Bros. Construction summers and Saturdays. I cleaned dormitory rooms that first summer. We rented the basement apartment on North Street for $25 a month, budgeted $10 a week for groceries, did without a telephone. But we did take out health insurance in August.
And that was smart, because in early September I was beginning to experience first nausea, then extreme tiredness. These were the days before the pill – the calendar method obviously didn’t work. Yikes, I was scheduled to practice teach that September. Somehow, I did get through the semester, but it wasn’t easy. I quit school, got a job working in the Placement Bureau at the college – a job I loved, but I told Dr. Kloster my last day would be May 4th, because on May 5th, our insurance would cover maternity benefits!
Wonder of wonders, the plan worked. Labor began the evening of the 4th, our first-born arrived the next morning – and Paul graduated three weeks later. Kari Lee was wonderful, I was absolutely ecstatic to be a mother. Somehow I managed to take some summer credits, but the rest of the way to getting a degree would take another twenty-five years!
Fifteen months later, Lori arrived. Six weeks early, she had a tough start. But her tenacity, beginning at birth, has always described her. Christopher arrived four years later, and Jonathan four years following.
I’ve written a number of stories about my kids—stay tuned!
