Linda Wood Rondeau – Real Life Romance – Part 1 of 3

Shannon here: Inspirational author, Linda Wood Rondeau shares a glimpse into her parents’ real life romance plus a chance to win her latest release, Days of Vines and Roses. Comment on any post dated Oct 7 – 10 to get in the drawing. Deadline: Oct 19th, 11:59 pm central time.
Mama, I Can’t take a Bath ‘Cause There’s a Fish in the Tub

Fishing with my father was anything but boring, but my mother dreaded every fishing season.  “Your father is a veritable Mr. Hyde when he fishes,” she would say, generally including an emphatic gesture like hitting Dad with the newspaper, pretending a fly had landed on his shirt. “It’s safer to cuddle up to a rattler than be stuck in a boat with your father.”

But over time, my mother learned the wisdom of patience in dealing with my father’s idiosyncrasies. “When you’re married to a man for over sixty years, you forgive these sorts of insanities. Your father’s done a lot of crazy things that challenged my patience, but the craziest thing was the day he brought home that trout he caught at Butternut Creek.”

Dad squeezed Mother’s hand. “I suppose she’s right.”

They shared the tale that symbolized their sixty plus years together.   

“Butternut Creek is probably the trickiest place I ever fished in,” Dad said. “Why it’s so narrow you could toss a stone from one side to the other. And the trees like to hold hands across the creek.”

My father first cast got a hit. “By the force of the pull, I knew he was a big feller.”   

Downstream, Eddie, Dad’s fishing buddy, was about to cast when he saw Dad struggling to hold his line. “Looks like a keeper, Cal,” he shouted. “Better use the net!”

“I left it in the truck!” 

“Your father is always forgetful,” Mother interjected.    

Dad could see the truck in an open field about a quarter of a mile downstream, but it might just as well have been two miles away. As Dad battled the beast of the stream, Eddie splashed his way toward the truck. Long minutes later, he plunged into chest-high rapids. For an agonizing second, Dad thought his amazing catch of the day would become catalogued with the other trillion stories of the one that got away.

“Got him!” Eddie shouted as he emerged triumphantly. They stopped at the water’s edge and shared that kind of emotional moment between men sans tears and embraces. Eddie simply stated, “Got to have a picture of this one, Cal.”

“Well, I don’t own a camera,” Dad moaned.  

            “Cal, we’ve got to have proof. Nobody’s going to believe we actually caught this fellow.”  

            “Well, neither one of us has one. At least we know what we caught.” The men trudged home with no lasting memento to herald their deed. 

As much as Mother despised fishing, she understood what this catch meant to my father. “Put the fish in the tub,” she said. “I’ll find us a camera.” The next day she borrowed one from her employer, and the picture found its way into Dad’s brag book.

When I think of what true patience in marriage embodies, I am reminded of this story. How my mother’s love transcended my father’s child-like need. I believe that human quality is but a shadow of God’s perfect patience. Knowing our foibles, His Patient Love surpasses the worst of our human frailty.

About Linda: Winner of the 2012 Selah Award for best first novel The Other Side of Darkness/Harbourlight,  LINDA WOOD RONDEAU, writes stories of God’s mercies. Walk with her unforgettable characters as they journey paths not unlike our own. After a long career in human services, Linda now resides in Jacksonville, Florida.

Linda’s best-selling Adirondack Romance, It Really IS a Wonderful Life, is published by Lighthouse of the Carolinas and is available wherever books are sold.  Her next releases were her devotional book, I Prayed for Patience God Gave Me Children and Days of Vines and Roses.

These books are also available in ebook format. Rondeau expects three more book-length releases this fall with a novella, A Christmas Prayer/Lighthouse of the Carolinas, and two short contemporaries: Joy Comes to Dinsmore Street/ Helping Hands Press, and Songs in the Valley/ Helping Hands Press.

Readers may visit her web site at www.lindarondeau.com or email her at lindarondeau@gmail.com  or find her on Facebook, Twitter, PInterest, LinkedIn, Google Plus and Goodreads.   

About the book: When a romance writer and her estranged publisher husband attempt to reconcile, malignant forces and a pending lawsuit seem bent on keeping them apart. After fifteen years of marital disarray, Henry and Sylvia Fitzgibbons (aka Lana Longstreet) independently contemplate divorce, their relationship relegated to Henry’s infrequent visits to the Connecticut estate and their once a week meeting at Chez Phillipe’s in Manhattan.

But, not yet. There is the matter of the decaying rose gardens and the thirtieth anniversary party the children are planning. Reluctantly, Henry moves in for the summer, steeled against the hauntings that torment only him. As reconciliation seems possible, the evil forces within begin to target Sylvia as well.  Like the strangling vines within the rose beds, Henry and Sylvia have become victims of spiritual neglect. Their only hope remains in surrender to a power greater than the evil determined to destroy them. 

Come back Oct 9th for Linda Wood Rondeau’s part 2!