It's 60 and going strong for my Deb

This is an easy blog that I agonized for hours to get just right.

Today’s subject won’t be surprised by the attention. We talked about it some to know ahead of time what I can get away with.

There’s much to unpack here, as you’ll see in a minute.

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My Deb turns 60 today (Friday). And she is thrilled.

Let me tell you a little about her.

Deb Kamlot-Wright moved from Long Island to Citrus County with her then-husband and two sons to be closer to her mother and aunt, who lived in Citrus Hills. She was hired as the human resources director at the Chronicle, where I worked in the newsroom.

Our paths rarely crossed. I knew from company meetings that Deb was into community stuff, and I attended some of those same events as a reporter. Other than that, no connection.

I wrote a blog last year about how we met, and I eventually wore her down to the point where it was either date me or get the law involved.

I fell hard for Deb. I’d see her out in the community, so engaging, helpful, and caring. Co-workers and organization volunteers alike delight in her company. She worked hard at the Chronicle; sometimes, I went with her for late-night visits to the mailroom where she’d drop in for someone’s birthday or to say hi. 

What most people didn’t know was Deb also worked equally hard raising two sons. It wasn’t easy, but she never wavered.

I often told Deb, “There’s no doubt who's the mother of those boys.”

Today her sons are respectful, hard-working adults following in their mother’s footsteps. Deb’s oldest, Matthew, shares his mother’s birthday; Matt is 25 today.

We married in December 2015, and life was bliss the first three years. We couldn’t get enough of one another. We went everywhere together. I was so attracted to her presence.

Then an event took place in July 2019 that would put into place a series of challenges, each more difficult than the one before. It eventually placed Deb in a position where she had to make a very difficult choice.

In January 2021, we separated for the first time. Deb moved to Citrus Springs, I stayed in Inverness, and somehow, the marriage didn’t disintegrate. Because I’m selfish to the extreme, I often forget how difficult that was for her. Deb made a call not based on spite or indifference, but rather love. 

We stayed in this separated but married state for two years. I guess it was better than divorce, but overall, a yucky time. I prayed for an end.

And it came! We were reunited back first at the little cabin, and then the New Just Wright Citrus World Headquarters on the shores of Big Lake Henderson.

We realized in March, however, that we’re still not right. Not as a couple, not as individuals. God has work to do.

Meanwhile my wife is taking charge of something that’s weighed on her mind for years.

Deb has long known she’d eventually need dialysis for kidney failure. We put it off as long as possible. She also knew that when it came to that, she wanted the at-home variety to do dialysis at night while she slept.

All of that has happened in the last month or two. She’s started the dialysis, was trained on the at-home, and is now doing that on her own.

This woman is my wife, friend, confidante, and the first person I think of in a jam. Deb feels similar about me. We are trying to figure out this stage of our lives with an emphasis on kindness and compassion toward one another. We’re not where we want to be. We’re light years ahead of where we were.

On Thursday we went to Tampa Airport to pick up Deb’s oldest friend, Andrea, who came in from Long Island. We’ll converge all Friday with Deb’s sons and their significant others for a dinner to celebrate this extraordinary woman.

(Drop her a line at [email protected].)

At 60, my wife is thriving. Deb loves Jesus, her family, and this community. We’re fortunate to count her among our own.

Please join me in wishing Deb a blessed birthday.

Have a beautiful weekend, friends.

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