Our first Christmas, where she accepts

After the fantastic adventure vacation, I thought visiting my family for Christmas would be anti-climatic but in many ways was more stressful, not because of my family but because of my gift. It had to be something she would like and since she hadn’t said yes, it couldn’t be too intimate, besides, I had already treated her to some Indian jewelry while in Arizona. Eventually I settled on high quality copper clad cookware. I can’t remember whether there was only the omelet pan and the skillet but I know the wok came later. I did give her mother some jewelry, which Marilyn didn’t know about until after she said yes but was a good back up plan, even though it wasn’t planned.

I was sensitive to at least one aspect of putting my best foot forward, I didn’t take her in the back way like my Mother did to my Father the first time he met her parents. I don’t know whether my Mother had already said yes or whether my Father had even asked yet but I knew Marilyn was a city gal and would probably not be impressed by an extra 30 miles or so of winding mostly dirt roads. It would have made the farm that much further into the wilderness. Besides, the mile lane with a portion through the creek was wild enough.

Needless to say, Marilyn fit right in. She even held my oldest sister’s first born without too much of the deer-in-the-headlight look.

It wasn’t until she was driving the two of us away that she finally said yes. My memory of whatever was said before the yes is gone. She said, “Yes!” She claimed that she wasn’t sure I asked her the first time and wasn’t going to give me an answer anyway until she had met my family. If I had known that this was the condition I would have been even more stressed.

One of the highlights of my parents' place was and is the food. I was thinner then because I was living on love.

The reason Marilyn was driving, I found out on the way to my parents that she suffered from motion sickness that is aggravated by being a passenger and alleviated by the focus allowed by driving. Letting her drive my 280Z was probably the icing on the cake to getting the right answer but I really didn’t do it for that reason. After we were married, I let her drive it quite often for other reasons, but those are other stories.

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Marilyn lost her life to cancer but was able to truly "live" until the very end due to a lymphedema garment from Don Kellogg, inventor and founder of Telesto-Medtech. It is due to the "living" he provided Marilyn and through his suggestion and connection with Saskia Thiadens of the National Lymphedema Network that the Marilyn Westbrook Garment Fund exists. It needs other people's help to remain a living memorial of Marilyn. Please help other people receive the gift of living by donating to the Marilyn Westbrook Garment Fund. Thank you.