"37 years" Ain't it great

four wonderful girls in my life, Kathryn, Shouna, Wynter, MOM/Opal

I cannot help but take the time to tell you what Shouna has put up with over 37 years as of December 21st.  First off lets give a time line or outline:
  * Married just before my last semester at Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford, OK
 * Moved to Dallas to work for EDS/Ross Perot
 * Moved to Chicago suburbs to work downtown for EDS
    - got into Amway like almost everyone we knew
 * Had first and favorite girl child in Chicago, Wynter
 * Moved to Oklahoma City to be close to family and worked for what became Fiserv
 * Had oldest son, Chase, now a fireman in Edmond
 * Moved to Colorado for one year while at Fiserv
 * Moved to OKC
 * Moved to Dallas for one year for Fiserv
    - had youngest son, Preston (that is three total)
 * Started company (VAR for IBM) --some good some bad
 * Four years later back to Fiserv
 * While in the data processing business started buying real estate and investing
    - built and owned a chain of day care centers  (early 80's - bad idea)
    - bought more real estate (bad idea - early 80's)
    - "the fat lady sang in Oklahoma and just about everything closed down" 1980's
    - bought land and built a farm/ The Pumpkin Patch in north Edmond (while working for Fiserv)
    - built first house (one of three for our family but who knows how many for others)
    - started a development company and built Clifford Farms in north Edmond
    - started an ATM / money machine leasing company
    - started an armored car company (bad idea)
    - started a meat processing company (bad idea)
    - built lots of houses and more developments
    - lost millions invested  in a development company and started over
    - built more houses and developments to try to recover
    - bought Auntie Anne's Pretzel stores for an investment in Oklahoma (8 stores)
    - built more houses
    - moved two more times
    - built a 2.5 acre garden around our house
    - started numerous companies, some good ideas and some bad
 * Founded a non-profit to serve adults with special needs
 * taught Sunday School for 35 years
 * Finally slowed down and closed almost every company to focus on helping others with their financial planning and retirement planning.

Well I am sure I left a lot out and let me tell you there were lots of ups and downs both emotionally and financially but the one thing that never changed is Shouna.  She has always been:
    * flexible (had to in order to live with me),
    * supportive of everything I did (she always worked side by side in every endeavor),
    *  prayed for me when I thought it could not get worse and it did get worse,
    *  was patient when I was like my dad and had no patience (still that way),
    *  raised our children to be Godly children and then spouses,
    *  reminded me to remember Christ had it a lot worse than me when I would focus on my problems,
    * and most of all she loved me in spite of my faults.

It don't get any better than that.

What do you learn in the Osage?
 * If you find a good one keep her
 * If you think you have a bad one look in the mirror first
 * Rough times are not near so rough when you know you have a partner who is behind you all the way

And one last thing which will get me in trouble.  As the old timer who had a three legged pig once said when a city folk asked him what happened to his pig and he replied, "he was such a good pig I did not want to eat him all at one time".

So one more for "what did you learn in the Osage?"
   *If you get a good pig, KEEP HER.

Thanks for your time,
gary@thepioneerman.com