Esther 5:2 “So it was, when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, that she found favor in his sight, and the king held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand.”
Joel and I were married for 22 years. From the moment we were married, he treated me as his Queen. Anyone who knew us knew that Joel loved me deeply. He placed me on a pedestal that I truly did not and do not deserve. His pet name for me was “Queen.” This was so much so that when Nate was in Kindergarten, the class did a craft project for Mothers’ Day one year. They made bead necklaces with their mom’s names on it. Mine did not read “Pat”, it read “Queen”. Even at that early age, Nate knew that his mom was Dad’s Queen. Pretty soon, I became the QQAL (Queen of Quite a Lot) and then when I received my ministerial credentials, I became the VRRQQAL (Very Right Reverend Queen of Quite a Lot).
Many of our friends learned that Joel called me Queen in 2004 when he first became sick. On Monday, August 25, 2004, he came home from work around 5:30 pm with tremendous pain in his belly. By 8:30 pm, we were on our way to the Emergency Room with an illness that became his demise. That week was crazy, one day he was seemingly healthy and the next day on his deathbed!
On Saturday, August 30th, I left the hospital for a while to get a little rest for the afternoon. When the mail came, Joel received an envelope that seemed to have something metal inside. It was a yellow envelope from the State of North Carolina, but you could not see inside (like you can now on these envelopes). I took it with me back to the hospital, and showed it my very sick husband. Joel’s dad was there also. Joel told me to go ahead and open it, so I did. Inside was my very first vanity license plate entitled, “QUEENPAT”. It was such a special treat! Joel had ordered it just for me without me knowing! I proudly displayed it on my Blue Saturn L200 series, which is so NOT fitting of what a Queen would drive, but I didn’t care. I was a Queen in Joel’s eyes, and that’s all that mattered!
When we knew that Joel would pass away before me, we talked about many things. One of the things he said he did not care for was the “In memory of” in the back window of a car/truck. So last year, when I got my new car I decided to honor Joel with a vanity plate entitled, “VRRQQAL”. So for those who have wondered, now you know.
Even though, I know I am not a queen, I love that he thought of me that way. Joel was a good man and a true man of God. It is fitting that I am writing about him on the Father’s Day, 2012. He loved his son, Nate, and he was a tremendous father and husband. We miss him so much! And we know Heaven is enjoying him being there! We will see you again some day!