Delayed I Love You

by Rev. Samuel A. Trumbore

I was going to say I love you,
but the telephone rang and a parisioner needed to talk.
I was going to say I love you,
but your beeper went off and you had to call the office.
I was going to say I love you,
but the cat meowed, scraping my leg with a tooth, demanding to be fed.
I was going to say I love you,
but I thought a great sermon illustration and ran to find a pen to write it down.
I was going to say I love you,
but Andy began to whine about wanting a bottle of milk.
I was going to say I love you,
but the pot of rice began to boil
and I had to turn the heat down so it wouldn't burn.
I was going to say I love you,
but a television commercial came on
about feminine protection which distracted me.
I was going to say I love your,
but I noticed the beautiful sunset out the window and ran to get my camera.

So I
unplugged the telephone,
turned off your beeper,
put the cat out,
finished my sermon,
put Andy to bed,
finished the dinner dishes and put away the left overs.
turned off the television,
and closed the drapes.

Then I sat down next to you,
grasped your hand,
and looked deeply into your eyes,

And Froze.

I realized how afraid I was to love you,
how afraid I was to depend on you for support,
how afraid I was to need your affection for my own well being.

So the odd duck that I am,
I need an audience, to say I love you,
to tell you how grateful I am for your care and support,
and to let you know
I look forward to a long lifetime of marriage and family
occasionally interrupted by telephones, beepers, cats, sermons, children,
boiling pots, television commercials, and sunsets.