From the desk

LEGACY OF LOVE — William ‘Bill’ Overhultz pictured at his home in Kentucky.

“Darling,

Your wedding band sure does shine. Keep it on always as the girls will know you are already taken and belong to me forever and ever. I love you, dearest.

Mama”

I found this note on the back of an old photo, buried beneath decades of memories on a desk in my grandparent’s house. It was a photo I had never seen, one of a strikingly handsome young man in full Air Force uniform — my grandfather.

On the back of the photo, “Darling, Your wedding band sure does shine. Keep it on always as the girls will know you are already taken and belong to me forever and ever. I love you, dearest. Mama.”

My grandparents met while students at the University of Kentucky. My grandmother, Helen Olmstead, was raised in Huntington, W. Va. and was studying commerce. My grandfather, William Overhultz, was a high school basketball star from Lexington, Ky studying business.

In November 1942, my grandfather enlisted in the Army Air Corps Aviation Cadet Program. He piloted 26 missions against Nazi Germany and returned to Lexington in January of 1946. Helen Olmstead became Helen Overhultz,
Sept. 4, 1948.

The time that I spent with my grandparents was usually to celebrate holidays, birthdays and school events. But in that time, I only saw the surface of the life that they had together. Pictures around their home tell me more.

A photo of them walking down the aisle, hand-in-hand as they are presented for the first time as Mr. and Mrs. William Robert Overhultz shows them on the brink of a new life, uncertain but hopeful for their future together. Another one of them laughing as they sit around the Christmas tree, surrounded by my dad and aunt, represents their love and dedication to raising a godly family together.

My grandmother died Sept. 2, 2008, just two days short of their 60th wedding anniversary. Shortly after, my grandfather was involved in a serious accident while on his way to church. The accident left him unable to walk.

I was on the phone with my aunt last week and heard my grandfather in the background calling out my grandmother’s name. I hung up in tears, knowing that everyday, he moves further and further away from the life and shared love that he once knew. My grandmother was his best friend, his closest confidant, his lover and his biggest fan. He was her Darling.

Although I may be spending this Valentines Day by myself, I’m OK with it. My prayer is that one-day the Lord will bless me with the lifetime of love and happiness that my grandparents had. Until then, I will wait patiently for my Darling.