Opinions

I saw a post from a friend the other day that said something like, “I’m not motivated to drive my numbers up. I’m motivated to get my message out.” This reminded me of something I’ve been rolling around in my heart for several months now.

Valentine’s Day is less than two weeks away, and some couples are probably already making plans for the big day. One year I created a post asking readers to retell their favorite love story or write about couples who seemed to be the perfect sweethearts. This year, two extraordinary people came to mind, a pair who I now realize had the greatest love of all, my parents.

Recently, on social media, I came across a post that asked the following question: What is something you would tell the younger you if it were possible? And it got me thinking. There are so many things, especially warnings, I would offer to the younger version of myself. Most of all I would say, “Be happy, young Marilou, and be you.”

Raymond Herrington grew up at Pleasant Valley near Marble Falls. He had an active childhood. “We hunted a lot,” says Raymond. “We really did. We had lots of swimming places with the river and creeks right there. We’d go squirrel hunting during the day and hunt coons at night. It was just fun growing up with my 5 brothers and one sister.” He did some cedar chopping. “I was raised around a bunch of cedar choppers.