New Era

I started my journey of self-discovery as I recovered from the loss of my husband Grant. The 20 years of marriage we spent together seems like a different lifetime. We were in the middle of raising four children with two of our teens still in the home when Grant died of a massive heart attack while at work. I feel strongly he knew he didn’t have long with us. He was only 52 years old. Grant had been dead for over a year, and I decided during that time to get healthy so I could take care of our family. I had an overwhelming fear I would leave my children as well.

I started walking which turned into speed walking and running and then with recommendations from a friend started weightlifting. Grant and I were two years a apart in age and we both didn’t mind getting older. Grant and I are over six feet tall at six foot three inches each and part of our attraction was literally seeing eye to eye. Grant was very tan with dark brown hair and hazel eyes, and I looked very different with what I call “fish belly white” skin and pale blonde hair with long streaks of white hair and light blue eyes. I looked like an albino in comparison to the rest of my family but my mother, I was her twin.

I was always self-conscious as I was considered “fluffy but farm strong” even my physician made a comment that I was it was normal to be "Fat, fluffy, and forty" my friends joked I was the "Amazon". I was a lot larger women than most and growing up it really bothered me but once I went on to college I enjoyed being taller than most girls and guys. Even though I had a medium, feminine frame I didn’t want to appear even bigger or muscular. This idea of being afraid to look “manly” changed when my husband died. I didn’t care about how I appeared but wanted strength and to live for my children. I changed from a fluffy, overweight mom of four, to a fit, svelte, yet muscular woman.

I took off two weeks from work as a lab scientist at a pharmaceutical company to go see my sister and visit my father’s grave in Illinois. I lived in Southern Missouri and left my older children in charge of the younger ones so they wouldn’t miss school and their sport functions. My oldest girls are 19 and 20 years old, attended college close by and they were off for break. My youngest daughter and son are ages 17 and 16 years of age respectfully so my children are very self sufficient.

My sister and I were meeting to clean the old cemetery where my father’s side was buried. The cemetery had several generations of relatives but very few left to make sure the cemetery is maintained. I took off in the early afternoon to get to the hotel by dark and make the 5-hour drive.

I didn’t know from this point on my life would change dramatically and in supernatural ways. I was on the road for about an hour on the main interstate and came upon a long line of traffic that slowed way down to one lane. I was behind very fancy, white race car carrier type semi-truck and trailer. I knew better than to stay so close where the truck couldn’t see me but as traffic started to pick up and the speed increased, I could see an older truck behind me whipping in and out on the shoulder to pass vehicles. I commute an hour to work each day so dumb drivers were not unusual to me. I saw a chance to pass the semi and I took it. The old truck was right behind me pushing right up against my bumper and actually bumped me. The semi driver looked down at me and waved me ahead of him as traffic was beginning to slow again.

The driver was strikingly attractive, with very dark skin, and chiseled chin, you could see a shadow of white whiskers and a very muscular arm. I could see his eyes twinkle at me in that second, I couldn’t tell what color his eyes were but they were bright and piercing. I quickly moved in front of him and the old truck on my ass bumped my bumper again and made me weave for a minute. The semi laid on his horn and the old truck spun out in front of me.

The old truck took the shoulder and zoomed past everyone in front of us. I was glad he left to get wherever he needed to be so fast and frantic. After another hour of slow traffic, it came to a total stop. I waited about 20 minutes and people were getting out of their vehicles to walk around. I shut off my car and decided to check out the back of my vehicle and maybe get a book out of my trunk. I was driving my new Jeep and I loved it. I had it full of tools to clean the cemetery and a cooler of snacks and beverages for my sister Charise and I later.

As I got out of my van, the semi driver was out also checking his rig. He was very tall, taller than me by several inches. He had long, thick black hair with white and silver streaks, pulled back in a long braid. He was very muscular, but I couldn’t tell if he worked out or was naturally that way. He didn’t carry himself like he worked out to be that way. He had a very strong jaw, and he had a hairy chest with black and white hair peeking out of his collared shirt. He was very well kept and clean. He came up to me and said, “I’m glad your safe, that guy was an asshole.” This man was so attractive, I bit my tongue accidently when I saw him walk up to me. “I said yeah me too, and thank you for letting me in, I thought I was going to crash for a second.”