It’s about time to meet the rest of the family
By PHIL COBB phil@pagecountypost.com
I promise with all my heart that this column will evolve into being more about Page County and less about me in the not too distant future, but this is already Week No. 5 of The Page County Post and I have yet to introduce my immediate family.
Honestly, I don’t know how much longer I can let that go without getting in hot water with the CEO, and if I don’t get all these facts straight, you can bet that will be the case, as well.
I was on spring break from Central Missouri State University in March of 1991 and Chaundee DeLee was a student in my dad’s Spanish class at King City R-I High School.
Yes, he did that, too, on top of everything else.
Dad had mentioned this sharp and attractive senior girl in his afternoon class, who had moved from Louisiana, so I may or may not have made up an excuse to interrupt his class one day.
I swear it wasn’t as creepy as that probably sounds. Anyway, there were only
about five people in that class, and I already knew the other students, with King City being such a small town, so Dad introduced me to Chaundee.
I don’t know if it was love at first sight, but there was definitely interest on my part.
This was well before cell phones or email, so I called her on my parents’ landline telephone that night and asked her out on a date.
Chaundee’s parents were super strict, and even she was surprised that they let her go out with a college guy on a school night.
I don’t think it hurt that my dad was her teacher.
Two days later, I picked Chaundee up at her parents’ house in my 1987 Pontiac Fiero and we went out to
Pizza Hut in St. Joseph.
Chaundee was so shy that she refused to eat in front of me, and I think most of the date consisted of me trying to get her to talk about herself.
I guess I must not have messed things up too bad on that first date, because for some reason she agreed to go out a second time, and somehow her parents agreed to it even after meeting me.
Let’s just say they were not impressed, but they still went along with it.
The following May 16, we were getting married.
So much good and bad has happened, over the past almost 33 years of our marriage, and the love we share has evolved in ways that I never could have imagined.
We have raised three daughters, built, bought, and sold houses, moved from one state to another and
then back, traveled all over the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean, changed jobs, started and sold businesses — so many things.
We have experienced the greatest of joys, and the depths of pain.
If you are a parent, you know there’s nothing like the pain of seeing your children experience pain, and we have unfortunetly done what I consider to be more than our fair share of that.
We’re no different than any other family. We all ride that roller coaster of highs and lows, but it’s how you react — how you bounce back — that can pull your family together, or break it apart.
Our family gets to experience one of those bounceback moments with our daughter Kelsey next month on April 22.
She will be marrying a guy who, when they were kids, lived right across the street from us.
I don’t think Kelsey hardly knew Shane Nelson when they were little. Shane is a couple of years older and we moved from that house to the country when Kelsey was 12 years old, so they didn’t really get to know each other until they were both adults.
However, Shane’s sister Lindsay has been Kelsey’s best friend since they were both about five years old. One of my favorite pictures is of those two when we all lived on Kaity Drive in Maryville.
Kelsey is our middle child. She is 29 years old and lives in Maryville. She has been working for a CPA firm in Kansas City for about three years or so, but works remotely from her home almost entirely.
Makenzie is our first child. She is 30 years old and also lives in Maryville.
Retired RN, looking for private duty jobs. Have excellent references. Call: 712-542-0327
She works as an in-home caregiver for a young man who lives with a severe disability.
Makenzie has the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever met, and that comes in pretty handy in her current position.
They recently purchased a house in Gower, Missouri,
Trinity is the youngest of our daughters She will be 24 next month, one day after my birthday. She currently lives in Kansas City, near Gladstone, Missouri, with her husband of nine months.
and will begin making it their home next month.
Trinity is a graphic designer for a company called Inside Information, located in Smithville. They provide marketing and communications for electric cooperatives all over
Women’s Scholarship Fundraiser
Pre-filled Easter Eggs, $10/dozen, filled with individually wrapped candy. Place order through chapterdnpeo@gmail.com or by calling Denise at 712-625-3871. Orders are being taken through April 7. Pick-up orders on Saturday April 12 at 600 W. Sheridan, Shenandoah, between 9 am-noon. Sponsored by Chapter DN, P.E.O. Shenandoah. Raising money for women’s scholarships.
the country. If you receive an email or direct mail piece from your electric cooperative, there’s a decent chance Trinity, or someone at her company, designed it.
No grandkids yet, but I have to think with two marriages within a 12-month period, that can’t be far behind. Let’s end like we always do by welcoming our new advertisers. Week 5 New Advertisers
Emmanuel Lutheran Church, S&S Appliance, Shenandoah Public Library, and 3D Tech Inc.
