Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, September 18, 1994 TAG: 9409200004
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
``We were high school sweethearts,'' said Charlotte Reed. ``He played football, and I was a cheerleader.''
They were married 20 years ago in Christiansburg's Belmont Christian Church.
They are married still.
``We're not only married, we're happy,'' confirmed Charlotte Reed. ``We're not only happy, we love each other.''
Who knows why? The Reeds are proof, were any needed, that love has a logic all its own.
``Donnie and I in some ways are very different,'' said Charlotte Reed, who is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in tourism at Virginia Tech - where she also works as an economic development specialist.
Donald Reed works at Corning Glass Works. The Reeds live in Christiansburg.
``I'm really driven,'' she said. ``And Donnie's really laid back. A lot of it is just that Donnie's a good patient person and puts up with me.''
Their courtship was a bumpy one, they said, on again, off again. They had a traditional wedding - with one change.
``I told him I wouldn't say `obey,''' she said. ``That was the only thing I felt pretty strongly about.''
In the early days, she worked full-time while he attended school and worked part-time. They lived in what seemed like luxury, in a rent-subsidized apartment with central air.
Later, when they started making too much money, they moved into a rental house.
They had fun.
``We enjoyed having a party,'' said Charlotte Reed. ``We were really having a lot of fun being independent and on our own.''
On fundamental matters - such as the importance of family, and of their 13-year-old daughter, Amber - she and her husband have always agreed, said Charlotte Reed.
Still, nothing can gloss over the differences. Donald Reed loves the outdoors and is a serious hunter, proficient with bow and arrow, black powder or shotgun.
The very thought of shooting animals makes Charlotte Reed squeamish, however, while ``my idea of roughing it is staying in a hotel without a Jacuzzi,'' she says.
He is slow and analytical; she is high strung and in a hurry to get things done. She may drive several nails into the wall - here, there and over there - while hanging a single painting.
Her husband likes to work more slowly. ``And do it right,'' he says with a grin.
Meanwhile, Donald Reed does much of the cooking, and keeps the household humming when Charlotte Reed is attending class at night.
Neither claims to know the secret to a happy marriage - though they have a hint or two.
``I think it's just `take one day at a time,''' she said. ``I always laugh when I read those things in Dear Abby about men who leave the toilet seat up. It's such a minor thing. ... You have to be committed to it.''
``You don't question it really,'' said her husband.
``Just let it work,'' she said.
by CNB