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| Bride and Groom Holding Hands |
Time to Remember by J.Q. Rose
Forty-five years ago today, the morning was rainy and windy. Storm clouds filled the sky with angry threats of tornadoes headed to our little part of the world, Central Illinois. After the rains passed, the heat and humidity entered.I remember that day, June 14, 1970, clearly because it was my wedding day.
Before the wedding, my soon-to-be husband and I were in the church setting up a tape recorder to capture the wedding service. We tried to find a place where the huge reel-to-reel box would not be noticed by our wedding guests and still pick up the sound well enough for us to play it back for years to come.
We haven't played the wedding march, the message from his Uncle Kenneth who was a Lutheran minister, the organ music swelling to the powerful words of the Lord's Prayer, and the joyous exit as we left hand-in-hand down the aisle as man and wife. Where do you find an old tape recorder like that nowadays?
Noone noticed the recorder, nor did they see me shudder when Uncle Kenneth finished leading us in saying the marriage vows/ then said to us, "Now you may kiss the bride." I turned to my new hubby and grimaced at the thought of even a slight peck on his lips because, in his tuxedo in the heat, his starched shirt was wet with perspiration and streams of sweat rolled from his forehead all the way down his flushed face.
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| Kissing |
What a way to begin a marriage--storms, tornadoes, and not even wanting to kiss the man I loved. (But I did!) Good for us, by the time the reception of cake and punch in the church basement was over, the storms were gone and the late evening sun peeked out from the clouds.
Little did I know that our life together would be made up of storms and sunshine, but I wouldn't change it for a million dollars. Somehow we weathered them all and celebrated our forty-fifth anniversary with dinner at a new restaurant in town last night.
I've often thought about writing a book with advice to the young'uns about what makes a long term marriage. I even began asking all the couples I know for advice about how they made it through all those years. I never can actually nail them down for the answer. I think it's because the time goes so quickly, we don't notice the years ticking away.
I've learned we need to take time to notice everyday life and live in the moment. We need to pack away the memories to savor in later years. It's not too late.
Do you remember your wedding day or a wedding you attended? Do you have advice for young people today about love and marriage?
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Bride and groom Images courtesy of photostock at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Kissing Image courtesy of pat138241 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Quote image from Quotescover.com
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8 comments:
Beautiful post, J.Q. Oh my, how your new hubby must've been embarrassed that he sweated so bad. Was that really the heat, or his nerves? :)
I remember my wedding day. Got married in a barber shop. It was kinda like Floyd's on Mayberry. He had customers (his friends) who passed the days with him just sitting around, chewing the fat. Besides being a barber, he married folks on the side. His friends signed on the paperwork as witnesses and he said they've signed as many as him over the years!
My love and I are still together. I pray the One who made us will allow us to be together for a good number of years to come.
Now, what restaurant did you eat at last night? :)
Lovely memories, JQ. It's a shame you can't find an old tape player. My dad had some old tapes of us as kids. He sent them to a place that converts them onto CD. Perhaps you might find somewhere similar. I hope you get to see that day again. I bet your grandchildren would love it! Happy anniversary!
Miss Mae--Your wedding day sounds like it could turn into a great story. A barber shop? That's fantastic. We ate at the new brewery in town. Hand crafted beer is all the rage in our part of the country. Grand Rapids, MI has won the Beer City award several years in a row. Now the crafters are spilling out into the small towns in our area. Even ours. The food was okay. Nothing to write home about, but I'm sure they're more interested in selling beer. I had a root beer they made too. Sure different from A&W or Mug.!! Thanks for sharing your wedding day with us.
Thank you, Helena. We had a good anniversary, just the two of us. Perhaps I should google to see if someone knows how to take the audio off the old reel tapes. Good idea!
Congrats on 45!! We hit 20 this year.
Thanks, Tess! Congrats on 20! Or as my DH would say, "the end of round 20."..LOL.
Love post, JQ. Our 44th was June 5. So you're ahead of us by a year and a few days. Things were so different back then. We too got married in a Lutheran church, so no wedding march for us either. we didn't even get to kiss. MO Synod is so strict. Bob never let's me forget that. LOL Our small reception was in the church basement.We drove from San Antonio to Austin and stayed one night in the holiday in before moving to our one-bedroom apartment. 3rd year of law school started on Monday for Bob.
As to advice, you know as long as no one is physically or psychologically abusing either partner, you just tie a rope and hang on. The bad times come, but generally the bad times go. Somehow coming through those makes the bond stronger and sure does make the good times sweeter. Thanks for this lovely post.
Marsha, Congrats on 44 years!June was a big month for weddings in our day wasn't it? Tie arope and hang on really does describe marriage. Thanks for stopping in.
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