Today my mother and father would have been married for, hmmm, how many years is it now? This picture was taken at their 50th Wedding Anniversary celebration, and the renewing of their vows…it is a touching picture to me…I sat and looked at it some years later on the dresser when I’d sit next to my Dad’s bed when he was bedridden after suffering several strokes over a period of 5 years. It will be 5 years ago in October since Dad passed away, time passes quickly so it still seems like yesterday. I haven’t called my Mom yet, but I’m sure that the day hasn’t gone by without notice, and perhaps some tears. So this day, June 4th, is a special day, full of memories that are bittersweet now. My parents went through a lot, and their marriage is an example of commitment. Living out the words said at many weddings, “for better or for worse”. I thank them for that. Here is a picture of them on their wedding day:
I have a wonderful e-book that tells me what holidays and observances take place during the year, and discovering that April is Couples Appreciation Month was a fun find, because this month my husband and I celebrate 31 years as a couple…we dated for 7 months before we married on April 7th of 1979.
This past weekend we went away to celebrate in Lancaster, PA, remembering both our anniversary and Easter, or Resurrection Sunday as we like to call it. It was God who brought us together, after all, through a friend who invited me to come back and visit a church I had attended during High School. At that point 7+ years had passed since I had been to the church, and when I went and was invited to a get-together after, I met the man who would be my husband. He had moved here from Colorado on business, and worked only a block away from me. It took a couple of months for us to start dating, but after our first date, we were inseparable, and have been ever since.
Here’s to other couples that have been together for years because of your commitment to love one another and work through the challenges of life, through thick and thin, or as we said in our vows, “for better or for worse”. We’ve had both in our marriage, the “better” makes life fun, the “worse” makes a relationship stronger if you work through the challenges and come out on the other side.
Can it be that 29 years have passed since hubby and I said “I do”? I have the TV on and the beautifully-filmed movie, “Witness” with Harrison Ford is on, it is so peaceful except for the violent moments that are made all the more harsh by their contrast with beauty. Toward the beginning of the movie there is a tranquil scene that simply shows a field of long grass blowing in the wind. I long to be there.
And what does all of this have to do with our anniversary, this is our favorite place to go on our anniversary weekend, we love staying at a quiet motel that isn’t close to the where the tourists haunt. We like to ride up and down the backroads, park the car and walk, watch the Amish farmers turning the soil with their mule teams.
One of the best memories we have is of a time when we decided to visit an Amish/Mennonite church. I wasn’t dressed properly for the occasion, but we were welcomed. Men sat on one side, and woman on the other, but since we were guests, we could sit in the back together. There are no pianos or organs, just singing, and we were there to see a foot washing, our first in that kind of setting, very moving.
After the service, new guests are always invited to a home for dinner, and we decided to accept the invitation. What a beautiful time with special people in a simple but beautiful home. Bountiful table full of delicious food, woman in their simple dresses with hair pulled back and head coverings, men with their black suits and hats. Wonderful, friendly people. The only awkward moment was when I tried to help by bringing some dishes into the kitchen from the table..awkward because I was in blue jeans. The woman did give me looks, but it wasn’t long before they warmed up to me. That was a once-in-a-lifetime memory.
29 years of marriage on the 7th, I’m sure to have more thoughts on that in the next few days.
Today my mother and father would have been married for, hmmm, how many years is it now? This picture was taken at their 50th Wedding Anniversary celebration, and the renewing of their vows…it is a touching picture to me…I sat and looked at it some years later on the dresser when I’d sit next to my Dad’s bed when he was bedridden after suffering several strokes over a period of 5 years. It will be 5 years ago in October since Dad passed away, time passes quickly so it still seems like yesterday. I haven’t called my Mom yet, but I’m sure that the day hasn’t gone by without notice, and perhaps some tears. So this day, June 4th, is a special day, full of memories that are bittersweet now. My parents went through a lot, and their marriage is an example of commitment. Living out the words said at many weddings, “for better or for worse”. I thank them for that. Here is a picture of them on their wedding day:
