You'll Like This Bit of History. . .

Back in the day. . .

What's your husband's name? William Joseph Opfel, always wanted to be called Biljo. Seriously. Typical surfer.

How long have you guys been married? Married December 22, 1970, Married in the Salt Lake Temple, December 18, 1975. We drove all the way from Boerne, Texas to Salt Lake in our little yellow Ford Pinto . . . with Katy, age 8 months in her little car seat wedged between the two front bucket seats. She was perfect the whole trip, even when we hydro-planed on black ice. I hate that kind of weather. A sweet trip.

How long did you date? Dad and I dated for over 5 years before we got engaged. We met at age 14 (before I even liked boys!). And I thought I knew him when we got married! Not hardly!

How old is he? Dad is only a bit older than me (May 28, 1951) - I was born January 13, 1952 and turn 58 this January '09. About 7 months older than me, but I was way more mature!!

Who eats more sweets? Oh boy! did Dad ever love sweets. Loved orange juice, ice cream, watermelon, junior mints, hot tamales, -- the list is long. however, he did not like Crispy Creams and I honestly never understood that. Because there is nothing like a fresh warm crispy cream donut. absolutely nothing!

Who said I love you first? Dad did. And he was always saying "I love you" not just in words . . . but in deeds. And that really counts. Not that he is the perfect example of a husband - but pretty close - for me that is. He use to say to me "You never say you love me until I say it first" - oh well, no one's perfect right? Sometimes I didn't like him very much . . . and it's hard to squeeze that "love you" out . . .but Dad was a good example of someone who said "I love you" and I learned from him . . . also learned to hug from him. And then there's my sister's family who have taught me to kiss on the lips when ever we greet one another. i'm used to it now!

Who is taller? Yah, it's not too hard to be taller than me - 5'. Dad's a whole 8" taller!! I always thought he was tall . . . I always was looking up to him!!

Who is the better singer? Dad! I am still amazed when I think of how he could pick up the tune of a song at church even if he had never heard it before. Once I made him go to choir with me because they needed men - I know he has a great voice - but untrained. when we got there the choir director asked him what part he sang . . . that was the last time he went. darn it! but he always sang the hymns in sacrament faithfully. Just not in FHE. . . grrrrr.

Who is smarter? Ok - there is no question here. I have never known anyone who could retain as much information as Dad. It is truly incredible how Dad would answer almost any question . . . I never could figure out how he knew so much actually. He hardly ever watched the news and yet always knew current events and politics. If you wanted to stump Dad - you might be able to do it with sports or cooking.

Who does the laundry? tho' i had trouble keeping up with seven little ones . . . that was my job. always had piles. dad would help sometimes - actually, he liked to do his own laundry - or actually, liked to NOT wash his jeans ever - because he thought i always shrunk them and then they were not nice and soft like when he didn't wash them. i would have to steal them after he went to bed and quietly remove all his keys and change and throw them in the washer and dryer before he noticed. Sometimes, I would fall asleep before I got them into the dryer and then I would be in trouble in the morning - "Where are my jeans?" - whoops, in the washer . . . believe it or not, he would take them out of the washer and just put them on. not even kidding.

Who pays the bills? Dad's money . . . I wrote the checks. Not something Dad ever cared much about . . . paying the bills. but he did like them to get paid! He just liked to earn the money and just hand it over . . . .

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Is there something special about the right side of the bed? I sleep on the left side. should I switch? I have always slept on the left side. I don't really care . . . I just like a table to put my glasses and book on . . . and have a lamp to read by. But Dad on the other hand - wherever we were Mama's, hotel, kids house, whatever - he had to sleep on the side that was nearest the door. Why? easier to escape in case of fire? easier to fight the burgler ?

Who mows the lawn? Are ya kidding me? I was not allowed to do that special task. The kids were hardly allowed to touch dad's grass. It was like his special experiment with his fertilizer that he created. And what a lawn - the neighbors would stop and ask what he had done to it to make it so so green? Yep, and every place we ever lived he was the outside guy. Now i have a riding lawnmower . . . use it ever so often to mow my acre. It's fun i guess. but i don't have the talent dad did with the outdoors - or the gardening. I do have broccoli and cauliflower trying to grow - and swiss chard.

Who cooks dinner? How about a can of ranch style beans with a can of hominy thrown in there for dinner? that would be what dad would fix - maybe tater tots and ketchup - that was one of his specialties. he could care less about food most of the time. thus, i was the cook - and i do like to cook. now that dad isn't here to stop me - i even cook fish sometimes!!

Who drives? Funny thing - Dad always drove when we were younger. I'm sure you will recall how he would fall asleep and I continually had to say "are you awake" . . . and he would always say "yes" - well, after i asked him he was awake. In later years, after we had lived in the "big city" for awhile . . . I would drive because dad said he had been driving all day long . . . now it was my turn. but oh brother! it was like me in driver's ed and he was the instructor. I swear he had eyes in the back of his head, he always saw things before i did, very annoying.

Who is the first to say they are wrong? I'm not sure that either one of us was good at saying we were wrong - in those very words. but I think I was more stubborn in that area. Dad always use to tell me that i couldn't take any type of criticism from him at all . . . true. but i could dish it out . . . isn't that what a wife is for? It is hard to actually say "I am wrong". Maybe we should all practice saying it to ourselves in front of the mirror.

Who kissed who first? I'm thinking Dad kissed me first - I had never kissed a boy before - and he had had an older girlfriend - think there's a story there . . . why was a 17 year old girl dating a 14 year old boy? her name was jan and she was the older sister of his best friend. he was terribly cute with those blue eyes - and he did look older. but I do remember our first double date - we were sitting in the back seat and we were about 1/2 block from home, and knowing our time was almost up - so dad kissed me just as we went over a speed bump and our teeth banged together. so very romantic. but i was good with it. what did i know??

Who asked out who first? Ok. here's the story. dad was in Catecism (catholic) class with my best girlfriend who was also catholic. they were friends and she showed him a picture of me for some reason - she had a crush on him don't know why she did that. he thought i was cute and wanted to meet me. so he wrote me a note. which i still have somewhere. funny thing about it is - his hand writing was so shakey i could hardly read it. he was gonna fight some guy after class that he had gotten crossways with . . . weird. he went to a jr. high school where he was the only white guy. got use to fighting i guess. so, anyway, eventually he and his best friend came over to my house . . . and there ya go. he would ride his bike over to see me - too young to drive. we would sit outside in the porch swing and hangout because we were too young to date. and by the way, that girlfriend - we still keep in touch after all these years. she's a sweetie.

Who wears the pants? You know - I think that depends on the circumstance. Most of the time Dad let me makes the decisions and choices - because a lot of things he just didn't care about. so it felt like i wore the pants . . . but not truly. and i knew that. it feels good to know that you have a partner who supports you and is there for you. yeah, that's dad. just didn't have that personality of having to be in charge all the time - tho' sometimes out of the blue - he could be an orge. usually when tired and/or hungry - just like us all.

that was fun - i should write a book. got lots in my head.