Love still in the air for Bullocks

Love is not measured in years, but in moments.

This adage is very true in the lives of Estelle and Lawrence Bullock of Calder.{{more}}

Sixty years ago they took an oath to love each other for the rest of their lives; they have kept their vows, weathered the challenges of time, and remain passionate about each other like that July day of 1948, when they promised before God and man to love each other until death.

Estelle is 82 years old, but her face still radiates every time she looks into her husband’s face; Lawrence, on the other hand, now 84, beams with smiles, mirroring the joy on his wife’s face.

SEARCHLIGHT captured this moment while interviewing Estelle and Lawrence last Wednesday.

There was a twinkle in Estelle’s eyes every time she went down memory lane. At times, with youthful gaiety and still showing signs of romance, she gave Lawrence a loving pinch or two, as well as a few “smacks” on the bottom. Though Lawrence was composed for much of the interview, he couldn’t hold back the laughter, which also caused Estelle to burst into laughter, and with a broad smile she asked, jovially, to be excused.

Estelle and Lawrence, who both originated from Calder, fell in love during the early 1940s, and on July 1, 1948, they got married.

The marriage produced 10 children: St.Clair, Felix, Alfonzo, Kenute, Hilford, Carmen, Lucy, Bernadette, Pam, and Harold.

Lawrence, recalling the years when he worked for 18 cents on the Argyle Estate as a Labourer, said he and his wife insured that all of their children were educated. Today, most of them are professionals in various fields in St.Vincent and the Grenadines, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada.

Lawrence revealed to SEARCHLIGHT that had his wife passed on when he was as a young man he is confident that he would never have remarried.

“You know who I would have married to? God! Sometimes I even say if Mama passes on before me I would ask Father God to take me,” said Lawrence.

“Sometimes people married and it’s not even a year as yet and they done mash up,” said Lawrence, a staunch Roman Catholic.

He said he always asks young people to emulate him and his wife.

“I does say, watch so long me and Mama married, you all must do like us,” said Lawrence.

Estelle said she counsels the younger members of her family, but is cautious to counsel strangers because some people get hurt quite easily.

The Bullocks have 19 grandchildren and five great grandchildren.

SEARCHLIGHT wishes Estelle and Lawrence a happy Valentine’s and many more years of bliss.