“Nanny, he fixes things too!”

 Dan and I went on our first date, fell in love, and became engaged…in less than 10 days.

Marina was six years old during our short, but very sweet and romantic courtship.  The first time she met Grandpa Dan, she said, “Nanny, you and Dan are a good match.  You like to dance, and so does he.  You ride your bike, and Dan does too.  You always want to go for a hike, and Dan likes to hikes too.  You don’t have a TV, and Dan doesn’t have a TV in his house either.  You cook all the time, and he cooks too.  You and Dan are really well matched.”

Marina was just a little girl.  She had just turned six, but she didn’t miss a thing.   She decided after she and Stella had spent a few hours one afternoon playing with the scooter, the dollhouse, and exploring Dan’s home and property, that Dan and I were “a good match.”

Then just a week later, I brought Marina and Stella to Dan’s home again to draw pictures and play.  Something broke, I don’t remember what, but I’ll never forget Marina’s reaction, when Dan fixed the broken item.  She whispered to me with surprise and awe,”Nanny, he fixes things too!”

Marina was right, my Danny fixes things.

For forty-five years I have struggled, coaxed, and eventually slammed and cursed at the drawers in an old antique dresser.  You may ask why I didn’t just get a new dresser.  Well, as frustrating as the 100+ year old dresser may be, I love this beautiful old burled walnut dresser.  So I’ve put up with its malfunctioning drawers since the day I found it in an antique mall, forty-five years—the year that my first baby was born.  

And I’ve hauled this old piece of furniture with me to five different homes through the last forty-five years.  But finally, I slammed the drawers one last time, and the mysterious insides of the dresser fell apart.  So I took all our clothes out of the bottom two drawers, and said to myself, “Oh well, it’s still a beautiful dresser, and even if it is nearly useless, I still love it.”

I guess I had forgotten Marina’s childish voice whispering,”Nanny, he fixes things too.”

And that is what my Danny did.  He went to work to fix my old dresser….

My 75-year-old husband spent all afternoon on the floor in all sorts of uncomfortable, contorted positions so he could fix my antique dresser.  And this was after we had cycled 34 miles this morning in 36 degree weather!

Thank you, my love.

Isn’t it beautiful…and the drawers work too.  Grandpa Dan sure does fix things!

Time has proven that Marina, as a little girl, was so very wise.  Almost thirteen years later, we're still a good match….and we’re even happier and more in love than we were during our courtship.  

And now, years later, here is Marina with Stella, our dear granddaughters. 

Marina is eighteen years old—all grown up.  And she is even wiser than she was as a little six-year-old girl.