February 2, 1981
I found the following poem that I had written among the letters from Warren. He always saved things that meant a lot to him. I remember writing this poem. I was living at 410 Lincoln Street in Deer Park, Texas and Warren was in San Francisco working.

How do I tell you about the life that you've given to me?
The year was nineteen hundred and fifty eight; twenty years and three.

You came into my life as my only blind date.
Before the love began, there was a tiny bit of hate.

You got your life in order and cleared a path for me.
You called me and courted me for all the world to see.

You were a bit smug and grown up too, walking very tall.
I was a bit afraid of you, but the hate faded to none at all.

You asked me one night on that lonely sandy beach to marry you,
And it wasn't long after that I heard myself saying, "I do."

That was the beginning of our life together, just you and me.
Little did we know that a year later, Donny would make three.

It wasn't easy and wouldn't be for a long time to come.
I don't really think we knew what we had done.

We got our first "home" at number forty Glover Street,
And the arguments came in love and in heat.

The problems we had and the tears we cried,
But through it all, we always tried.

A few years passed with memories here and there,
But our problems sure made the memories hard to bear.

In nineteen hundred and sixty three, very late at night,
Along came Mike and we asked, "Are we doing it right?"

We grew up together fighting and loving, you and I.
There were many times when we both would cry.

The years passed, sometimes slowly, but always together.
We had a lot of things that alone we would weather.

Each year brought us closer and helped us to see
That together our life was growing like a giant oak tree.

Through all those years, one by one, I loved you more than you would ever know.
We've built a life for ourselves and our boys that can only grow.

Just knowing you are with me, here or away,
Is what makes my life worth living day by day.

I've come to love you, honor you and cherish you too.
It's been such a long, long time since we said, "I do."

Those wedding vows, to me, weren't very real those many years ago.
Only as the time passes do I really know

That you are my life and I'll always love you
And thank you for being you and doing all that you do.

All my love, all the way. Me