I'm slowly making my way through The Reagan Diaries. I'm interested in the book for so many reasons; political, historical, personal--but as I read it, I'm more drawn to the love story than anything else. Ronald Reagan loved Nancy and he wasn't afraid to express his thoughts and emotions about her on paper.
Here are a few of the entries he made about her in his journal:
March 4, 1981: "Our wedding anniversary. 29 years of more happiness than any man could rightly deserve."
March 30, 1981: "I opened my eyes once to find Nancy there. I pray I'll never face a day when she isn't there. Of all the ways God has blessed me giving her to me is the greatest and beyond anything I can ever hope to deserve." (Spoken about seeing Nancy in the hospital after he was shot.)
May 16, 1981: "Nancy up at the crack of dawn to leave for Miss. & the launching. Why am I so scared always when she leaves like that? I do an awful lot of praying until she returns. She returned and I've said my thank you."
June 22, 1981: "Nancy left for Calif. at noon & I'm already lonesome."
July 23, 1981: "Saw 'Mommie' off for London & the Royal Wedding. I worry when she's out of sight 6 minutes. How am I going to hold out for 6 days. The lights just don't seem as warm & bright without her."
On and on it goes. You can actually feel his ache for her when they are apart. You can sense his lack of peace. And when he uses cliches like "the lights just don't seem as warm & bright without her," you can actually imagine the lights being dimmer when she is gone.
They had the type of love that poets write about and their story offers hope to all those who are still seeking such love.
