How to become a better man

Delbert and Lois were wonderful people. They loved each other and were married for many, many years. They welcomed me in to their lives when I first started dating Jen and we became very close. I know people tolerate their inlaws, tell inlaw jokes, etc but we were actually very close. I loved them both very much. I learned what it was like to accepted and how to accept and love others because of what they demonstrated. Its hard for me to find the words to express how special they were to me and my family. I miss them both very much and think about them all the time. We used to visit with them almost everyday. Even after Nick was born. We saw them all the time. We made a point to never move too far away. Nick and Delbert were best buds. They dug a tunnel and built a fort in Delbert's back yard, dug up ant hills, built a town with a model train, and all kinds of other things.
Delbert had worked for the school district and was retired when I met him. We talked alot about my work and things like that, but I really learned alot by watching him. I learned how to treat his daughter by watching how he treated his wife. I learned how to raise my son by seeing how he treated his children and grandkids. Lois was dealing with severe RA when I met her. It limited what she was able to do. Delbert took over and did what she had trouble doing and much more. He never made a big deal about it. He just did it. He loved his wife and enjoyed helping her anyway he could. He did what ever he could to help anybody. He was a very humble man. Never wanted people to notice him.
Lois was very wonderful and caring. She loved her husband, her kids and their spouses, and their kids. For a number of years, Thanksgiving and Christmas was always at their house . She made a lot of costumes for the kids. She was always doing things for others. She seemed to be happy even though she was in a lot of pain. She had a great sense of humor and we laughed a lot.
I remember a time that I thought I could siphon some gas to prime the carburetor on my car. I had seen others do it, but never tried it myself. How hard could it be? I asked Delbert if he had a piece of rubber hose. He got it and I started sucking. It took a couple of attempts. Finally, the gas came up the tubing and into my mouth. I started gagging and choking. Delbert was laughing like crazy. I had never seen him laugh that hard before. He was glad I was okay, but it was pretty clear that I had no idea of what I was doing. He went and got the gas can for his lawnmower. He had offered to get it earlier, but I just knew that I could do this.

the happiest day ever

The big day finally came. It was exactly one year to the day that we had started dating. Before meeting Jen, I thought I'd never get married. I had learned that marriage doesn't work. It starts off pretty good, but then it just goes down hill from there. At least that is what I had seen. My dad, his dad, and Bob's grandpa all had been divorced and remarried and sometimes repeated the cycle. I never met Ward's dad, but Ward seemed to be bitter towards marriage. Women had always taken advantage of his kindness. The same thing was true about Bob. In fact, we had a man to man , face to face, father and son chat. He tried to give me his wisdom and advice. He suggested that Jen and I should just live together and see if things work out, I was too young to get married, I'll be sorry, and so on. I told him that I wasn't him and things WOULD work out.
Well, Jen and I got married. It was a great day. Her best friend, Sherry was her maid of honor and her nephew, Buddy was my best man. My brother, Rob and Buddy's brother, Don were my groomsmen. My sister,  Erin was the flower girl. Jen's dad walked her down the aisle. We got married towards the end of September, but it was the hottest day we ever had. The wedding went great. Bob and his new wife came to the wedding acting like they were behind it the whole time. The reception was held at Sheelah and her husband, Merlin's house and it was pretty relaxed. Being young and broke, we just did cake, snacks,  and punch. There was just family there. No expensive sit down meal like people have now. As a matter of fact our big wedding day meal was McDonald's. Our grand honeymoon was a night's stay at Griswald's in Claremont. It was a decent place, but again we were young and didn't have much cash. Sheelah and Merlin gave us a nights stay on the Queen Mary for another night. The whole day went by so, so fast. We were both extremely happy.
Even though we were happy, a big part of me was waiting for things to change. I don't know if I thought all the Willcutt men were cursed or maybe I thought I didn't deserve to be so happy. I know it sounds weird but for the first few years, I was waiting for everything to fall apart. Thankfully, it just got better and better.