October 2022

Jan Surprises Me
But Love Never Dies

“Richard, there is a call for you on line three. It is your wife.” Hearing the voice from the other room caught my attention. In two months, Jan and I would celebrate four years together, and I had never gotten a call at work from her. When I had interviewed for this job at St. Nick’s, Jan had almost left me. Hopefully, she is not calling me to say she changed her mind. I stopped talking to my co-workers and walked to the closest phone.

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Swimming in a Waterfall
As Our Love Grows Stronger

“This is the gravel path that I walked down to the hostel’s office and had my unfortunate encounter with the German Shepard,” I said to Jan as we stood in the hostel parking lot. Even though it had been two years since that encounter, I felt uncomfortable and fidgety as I looked at the place where a dog had mauled me. Jan squeezed my hand and stepped in front of me to partially block the view. “I am so happy that you survived. I love you and know I could not live without you.”

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The Jan Lilien Education Fund!