Joe Biden asked Jill to marry him not because he wanted to marry her (although he really, really wanted to marry her), but because his boys told him to.
After losing his first wife and daughter, he didn’t want to mess with the stability he had been able to give his boys by commuting for hours every day to be there with them every morning and every night. So despite wanting to marry Jill, he held off.
When did that change? Decades later, Jill Biden remembered that period in her book Where the Light Enters.
Beau and Hunter had recently cornered him in the bathroom one morning while he was shaving. “Beau thinks we should get married,” six-year-old Hunter told him. With their father understandably confused by this pronouncement, seven-year-old Beau explained, “We think we should marry Jill.”
It took her five proposals to finally say yes. Jill had trust issues from previous relationships. But Joe was able to show her that he was the kind of man that can be trusted.
I was slowly learning to trust again, because Joe and the boys made me feel secure in their love. . . .
I was no longer afraid of marriage; I knew I could marry Joe. He was a good man and a caring partner, and I was unquestionably in love with him. He would make a great husband.
And Jill knew that marrying Joe really did mean also marrying Beau and Hunter.
Joe often drove the boys to school. It was a big part of their day — getting special alone time with their dad every morning. Their shared ritual was to sing along to songs on the radio, and one of their favorites was the Helen Reddy hit “You and Me Against the World.” It’s a simple, beautiful song in which a mother sings to her child that she’ll always be there for her: When all the others turn their backs and walk away / You can count on me to stay.
That was their bond: one of shared memories, of grief, of absolute trust. It was them against the world. And they were asking me to join that sacred circle. They trusted me to step into their lives and give them the love and devotion that had been stolen from them.
But she did, and it has worked out very well for both of them.
In many ways, Joe’s temperament and mine complement each other. He tends to pull me out of my shell, and I help keep him grounded. He’s affectionate enough for both of us.
Even now, his staff members laugh about it, joking that the answer to “Where’s the vice president?” is always, “Well, where is she?”
Joe Biden knows commitment, love, and patience.
Is there still more work to be done? 100%! Lots more work. But Biden has done so much more than many people guessed could be done. He deserves a lot of credit. AND he deserves to be re-elected.
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These posts are written by Goodnewsroundup (Goodie),
edited by Matilda Briggs, supported by 2thanks and WolverineForTJatAW,
and reinforced by several other notable Kossacks!
As with all good things, it takes a village.