First a friend,

then a lover,

more ever,

 a Mother.

 

When I first met Sally I was taken by her beauty. She was bubbly, intensely cute and fun to be with. I met her after my first divorce and she was in a troubled marriage. We became soul-mates.

 

Sally was adopted by Stan and Mary Glenn in 1958. She came from a broken home and lived through several foster homes until the Glenn's adopted her, at the age of 3; They gave her a life much better than what had been offered to her and her sisters and brothers. The Glenn's lost three children prior to Sally. The most tragic being the loss of Russ at the age of 12 in a car accident in 1957. The life she lived with the Glenn's was one of a doting Father and loving Mother.

 

Sally's childhood was one filled with everything that a childhood should be,  family holidays, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncle and Cousins. Raised in the neighborhood of Okemos, Michigan, a suburb of Lansing, her neighbors were Michigan State professors and professionals of all sorts, much like her Father. Sally was a diehard Michigan State Spartans fan and I still have her "Sparties" jacket.

 

Sally was also a very accomplished swimmer and was on the Sea Sprites swim team for 10 years. During this time she won numerous medals and ribbons and she told me the highlight was meeting Mark Spitz, the olympic swimmer.

 

Sally also had her rebellious side and decided to forgo a chance at the olympics for her interest in boys at the age of 17. Oh well, we all had a rebellious side at that age. I was never more proud of her than when she volunteered at the YMCA and gave swimming lessons to children in Dayton, Ohio. Sally also knew how to dive and was an absolute natural in the water. She taught me how to swim and get over my fear of deep water. There are fond memories of our outdoor pool when we lived in Medina, Ohio and how she would entertain us with her diving. My favorite was the cartwheel flip off the end of the board.

 

Sally's dream was to raise a family and it seemed it was meant to be for us. She had two previous failed marriages and, at the age of 32, was worried about that ticking biological clock. In 1987 our first child, a son, Bradley, was born, followed by a daughter, Brittany, in 1989. She was an incredible Mother and knowing she was adopted made it all the more satisfying for her.

 

The one thing that Sally always wanted to know about was her real family. In 1990 her adopted Mother released the adoption papers and we found that her birth name was Molly. She was born in a house in Stockbridge, Michigan to a widowed Mother.We were never able to find out who the Father was.  The story was that Sally was one of three children of a "derelict" Mother. The state intervened and the Grandparents, (parents of the man that left her Mother widowed) refused to take Sally because they didn't know who the Father was. Sounds cruel but it was a twist of fate for Sally.

 

Our marriage was one of total devotion. We had our hard times and I will admit that early on, mistakes were made with substance abuse however, children will mature one rather quickly. Sally wanted to be a homemaker and I was fortunate enough to go to work for a fantastic company that provided opportunities of advancement and for us to live comfortably with a single wage. God Bless that company and I am still with them today.

 

to be continued.........