Joshua’s Family
As estate planning attorneys, David and I spend a lot of time asking our clients to reveal their personal, financial and family histories. That’s pretty intimate stuff – stuff most people don’t talk about to just anyone. So to even the playing field, I wanted to share with you some of my family history.
Farm Home Town
I grew up in the village of La Moille, Illinois with a population of about 700. It’s one of those great small towns where kids can safely roam the streets and your neighbors are always there to lend a hand. It’s a farming town and I spent many summers walking beans, baling hay, and detasseling corn. I also played lots of sports – baseball, basketball, football, track and field. I even raced BMX bikes on the weekends. In high school I played the baritone saxophone in the band and performed in the musicals. My favorite roles where Wild Bill Hickok in “Calamity Jane” and Charlie Brown in “Snoopy.”
Around the World
The reason I’m telling you about my high school years is because it leads to one of the most important moments in my life. That is the moment during my junior year of high school when I met my wife Cecile. Cecile is from the Netherlands – born and raised in a small farm town in the southern province of Limburg. During her sophomore year of high school she decided to see the world by becoming an exchange student to the United States. You can imagine the excitement she felt as she waited to find out where she would be placed with a host family: Chicago, New York, or Los Angeles! Unfortunately for her (and fortunately for me) she ended up in the small town of Arlington, Illinois. Because Arlington lacked its own high school, Cecile attended La Moille Community High School with me.
So Much for That Advice
It wasn’t love at first sight, but we found each other early in the school year and were inseparable from that moment on. Everyone warned me to not fall in love with the exchange student because she would be returning home at the end of the year. But you can’t fight destiny right!?! So we dated all year and hatched a plan. I decided to become an exchange student to the Netherlands for my senior year of high school. My extremely supportive parents agreed to let me go because even if I was doing it for the wrong reason (love) I would still benefit for all the right reasons (learn a language, see the word, gain independence).
Off to the Netherlands
After a tearful goodbye and spending the summer apart, I was off to the Netherlands where I landed in Broekhuizen, a small farming town in Limburg. (Are you seeing the pattern of small farming towns?) Every weekend I would take the train an hour south to visit Cecile and her family. We were able to grow our relationship and we became even more committed to making our love last. Upon completion of my year abroad, and after another tearful goodbye, I returned home to start college.
16 Years and Counting
Sadly, Cecile still had another year of high school to complete before she could move to the United States. It was a difficult year, but we were able to see each other over Christmas break and Spring break. Once Cecile finished her Dutch high school she left her family and country behind and moved back to La Moille to start our life together. Lucky me! That was the Fall of 1992. On January 1 of 1994 we decided to get married and on February 19 of 1994 we did just that – yes, it was less than a two month engagement. We are now approaching 16 years of wonderful marriage and couldn’t be happier.
