‘When It’s real love, timing Is Irrelevant’
‘you make It Work’
Joan Gillon, 60, lives with her husband Tom, 69, in Cheshire.
Tom and I met at a funeral (not the most romantic setting) when I was 19 and he was 28. I asked him if he wanted a cup of coffee. He said yes, but with no sugar ‘because I’m sweet enough,’ he told me. ‘Not as sweet as me,’ I replied, my heart pounding. I knew I wanted to marry him.
After that, we saw each other every day until he proposed two weeks later. Well, proposed isn’t exactly the right word! He picked me up from my job as an office clerk and said he had a surprise. He’d posted our wedding bands at the register office, which luckily for him, I found romantically spontaneous.
‘Sure, I don’t have any plans that Saturday,’ I replied, teasingly. That night, I introduced him to my parents for the first time.
‘Mum, Dad, this is Tom. We’re getting married,’ I said. My mum passed out. When she came round, she asked if I was pregnant. I wasn’t. Six weeks later we married in June 1977. Tom sold his beloved Ford Capri so we could pay for the wedding. My parents thought we were mad. ‘He could be a mass murderer for all you know!’ my mum cried. But I knew Tom was the man I was meant to be with. Although we had our hiccups, pretty quickly we realised it’s not about what you take from a marriage, it’s what you give. In 1980, our daughter Vikki arrived, followed two years later by her sister Adele. Of course, Tom was a fantastic father, always helping out with night feeds and nappy changes. We’ve supported and trusted each other without condition for over 40 years now. When I decided to retrain as a teacher at 28, he cheered me on. And when he started his construction business, I was right by his side. Marriage is work, whether you’ve known each other 40 years, or 40 minutes. The timing is irrelevant. When it’s real love, you make it work.