Anniversary

WOW!!!!!!!!! I can hardly believe it that on Tuesday, May 5, we will be married 30 years. Yes, you heard me right, 30 years!!!! Do you have any idea in this day and age what a great accomplishment that is. Time has flown by and it is so easy for me to close my eyes and in my mind it is my wedding day. 6 girls dressed in pastel colored dresses (pink, yellow, lt. green, purple, lt.blue, peach) and all the guys wearing white tuxes with matching ruffled shirts (to match the dresses) and my handsome groom all in white. Of course, my dress was all white too.
The perfect pastel wedding just like I dreamed. I remember my parents went all out, after all this was the first big wedding of the family and the cost----$3,000. Was alot then... My how times have changed.
No regrets. To back it up, we met on a blind date, and on our blind date we went bowling with friends, to help break the ice, we were both a LITTLE shy back then, (I know it is hard to believe) and then we got engaged on November of 78'. ( I wont forget it, he had asked my dad if he could marry me and of course they gave their blessing. ) We stopped in Leipsic at Hilver's Jewelry to pick up our rings and we were headed to Continental to the funeral home because my grandfather had passed away. John wanted to wait, but I said no because it wasn't going to change a thing and my grandmother wouldn't have wanted us to put it off. We picked them up and when we got back in the car to leave he asked me the question and I said YES,I was so in love then and so incredibly happy at that moment.
Then all the planning started. Then on May 5, 1979 we were married at McComb Church of Christ and the journey began. The reception was fun and the cake was huge with a fountain in the middle. The only regret we have is that we didnt stay until the very end. We left the reception and headed back to my parents house to change to start our honeymoon trip. We went to Virginia Beach and believe me in May it is not very nice, at least it wasn't back then. It was cold and rainy, and the beach was dirty. To make a long story short, we came home early because I came down with a UTI and it hurt so bad the long ride home was painful.
Got home and stopped in McComb to see everyone before we headed to our new home in Carey where we have lived ever since. Opened our gifts when we got home and received alot of nice things to set up housekeeping and today we STILL have 26 of those gifts.
My parents told me "that when I find the right one I will fall hard" Not sure what they meant by that at that time, but now I do. A blind date that has turned into 30 years of absolute happiness. Full of Love, Respect, Honesty and lots of Communication. I can count on 1 hand how many times we have fought to date. We don't fight over the little things. We have learned over the years that life is to important and precious.
The 3 people who I credit for giving me this wonderful man is God, without him I have nothing.
His mother, who raised him to be a man of honor, integrity, honesty, someone who people admire because of who he is as a man. And our brother-in-law Buck who set that blind date up in the first place. (of course, I am sure he had help from God).
I realize today in the society we live in, that the kind of marriage we have is in the minority, not the majority like it use to be. People tend to forget that marriage is a lot of work. 100% giving of 2 people not 1. It is with CHRIST as the center of our life and LOVE that holds it all together.
The best way I can explain what John means to me is the love I have for him has grown more deeply with every passing year and God willing we have lots. But, if for some reason GOD would call him home (here is where it gets deep) I love him so very much that my world would be broken and it would be hard for me to go on. Now, if you think about it, that is a deep deep love that is hard to find these days.
I Love you my Darling and Happy Anniversary, and to many, many, more. xoxoxox