She did it!

      Paula is one of the most consistent, tenacious and organized people I have ever known.  Our sister-in-law (one of her closest friends) saw this card, bought it, brought it home and asked her kids, "Who does this remind you of?"  With no prompting, they answered in unison, "Aunt Paula!"

     There are things that bother her that don't cause me any problem (which speaks badly for me, by the way) such as:

or

or

      She pointed out that in addition to the corner of the sheet being out in the picture above, there was NO MATTRESS PAD!!

     This has been great in our married life....mostly.  It means that the house is always neat, the weeds are pulled and the spices are in alphabetical order.  Of course!  Who would dare do otherwise with spices?!

     Note:  I was sternly reprimanded for leaving the cabinet doors open taking that picture.

     The wash is done and neatly folded so that all the towels are stacked the same way.  The pictures are all straight and there are "hospital corners" when the beds are made.  I've been informed that at times I don't stack my jeans the right way, and she will take them out and arrange them correctly.

     Let me emphasize that this is almost always to the good.  Our home has a quiet and peaceful spirit, and while I laugh and give her grief on occasion, I consider myself lucky to be married to her for this and a million other reasons.

     As you've read before, we spent almost five years in South America, and through a LOT of hard and persistent work, she became fluent in Spanish.  She spoke over 300 times in various public meetings and never required a translator.

     We've been home now for nine years, and starting soon after that, Paula signed up for the DuoLingo app.  She says that learning the language was the hardest thing she's ever done, and doesn't want to lose it.  Consistent with her persistence and diligence, she almost never misses a day to "feed the owl," the way the app refers to the daily task.  (Because of her diligence, she can skip very occasionally if we're en route to Kazakhstan or something.)

     So, she made it!  Three thousand days in a row!

    She was asked, "So, what now?"  "4,000 days!  Duh!"

    Not long ago, a friend of a grandson bragged that he had a 200-day streak on DuoLingo.  Nathan laughed and said, "OK, my grandmother is closing in on 3K.  My GRANDMOTHER!"  Take that!

     I have to admit that although I laugh a lot about it, Paula's persistence, diligence and organization are one of the reasons that I love her.  I'll post again when she hits 4,000.  And then 5,000.

Dave