Happy anniversary to us <3
Well it’s a special day at our house.
Forty-two years ago, Russ and I and an assortment of relatives and friends gathered in the Presbyterian Church he had grown up attending in a small town in Iowa to witness our vows and have cake and punch in the basement of said church.
It was a simpler time.
There were no nails done at the salon, no tasting parties for hors d’oeuvres. We didn’t gather at the church until well after lunch so we could dress and take some early photos.
My mom was less than pleased that we did the cake and altar pictures and such before the ceremony, but so thankful to be able to see Russ. And also still a tiny bit miffed that the photographer didn’t catch the clock hanging on the wall above our heads that seals the time at 2:45.
We got married at 3:30.
As this man I married and I walked around the three mile circle of our neighborhood this morning, I was thinking about my something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.
My old was a locket of one of my grandma’s pinned to the blue garter under my dress. I borrowed a necklace of my other grandma’s from my mom and a lace handkerchief of hers as well. I guess the new was my dress.
I cried tears of joy from the minute they opened the doors to the church and ended up using that beautiful antique lace hankie to mop my eyes and blow my nose. It doesn’t appear in the after pictures except held tight in my fisted hand.
Also glad we took photos before so we actually have some with the handkerchief in it….
Sarah asked me this past weekend if we took a big honeymoon trip. I know she knows the story, but she knows her mom loves to retell things so she indulged the account of us in a rusted Chevy Impala, driving to our first night in the Amana Colonies and then taking a tour up through Wisconsin and Minnesota to see Russ’s brother on the way to our first apartment here in the city we have lived in all but six months of our married life.
We have been blessed with a wonderful family who love well, abundant and rich friendships, and income that allows us to live comfortably and give to others. Russ had a successful career and I have had enough part time jobs to make me feel like I contributed ice cream money and some other little extras along the way.
Forty-two years.
I remember being forty-two years old and feeling that was a long time. Now to be married forty-two. I can’t quite wrap my mind around how time moved this fast.
A customer last Friday was shopping for a friend’s 70th birthday. We chatted a bit about how we remember being all the ages and don’t feel the age we are until we look in the mirror or see a photo.
She smiled when I told her I would be 65 next month and said her friends were sharing that it seemed a blink ago they were turning that age and here they are.
As she left, she reminded me to cherish every day and I know that has been my goal from the start.
Every day is a gift and for that I am so grateful.
God is good.