Then... and Now (or Recently)

(I'm new at this scanning thing, so please bear with the quality and placement of the pictures.)

Today is our anniversary--37 years of wedded bliss, so to speak. Not all bliss, by any stretch of the imagination, but definitely good enough to make it work! :) You can see we have both changed more than a little. Even though you can't see it, we have changed inside as well, both of us for the better, as opposed to how our exteriors have changed.

We got married on Valentine's Day, 1970. Most people think this sounds romantic, but actually it is just because the holiday fell on a Saturday when Terry could get vacation time. Terry always has, however, remembered our anniversary, so this is good. The weather the day we got married was cold. It had snowed about 6 inches the night before the ceremony, but by 2:00, when the wedding took place, the roads were clear, so we had a good turnout. However, by the time our reception was over, a freezing rain had started to fall, and everything was icing over. It turned out to be the worst ice storm in Louisville's history, and we felt the beginnings of it as we headed out of town to Lexinton on our honeymoon. By the time we got there, roads were shutting down, and our car was covered with ice. It was a nerve-wracking drive, and we were both just plain exhausted when we checked in to our room. It was a good thing we had reservations because many people were spending the night in the lobby. We were glad to head for Florida the next day and get away from the mess.

However, back to the wedding itself. I really remember only bits and pieces of the event and the activities leading up to and following it. I remember getting dressed at the church and having my sister-in-law give me a drop of Binaca mouthwash and me spilling it on my beautiful wedding dress. It left a mark that stayed all day. I remember when the minister said, "Join right hands," and I put out my left one (I am left-handed, after all). I remember many friends from school and students that I had just been student-teaching being there. I remember that there were lots of people who wanted to talk to us, and that we were seemingly flitting from one group to the next. We didn't sit and eat, nor did we dance. We did open some gifts, which isn't done today. I remember changing into my "going-away" outfit of a linen dress and duster, only to go out in the freezing rain and get chilled. I remember one of us forgetting Terry's shaving kit at my parents' house and having to go back and get it before we ever got out of town. He was not happy about that and seemed to think it was my fault. I, of course, felt otherwise. Not a good way to start a honeymoon, but I know it was the stress of the wedding and then driving in all that mess in a car that was designed for speed, not bad weather. I remember that I was glad when the day was over, but that I regretted I didn't savor it more while it was happening.

We are now on our 37th wedding anniversary, and it will be spent quietly at home, as most of them in recent years have been. For the first several years, we went away for the weekend of our anniversary. Then for many years, when our kids were growing up, my sister and her husband graciously kept all three of them on the weekend of our anniversary so we could visit the National Farm and Machinery Show (Terry LOVED doing this) and have a night out (I LOVED doing this) here in town. Sometimes we would wait a month for better weather and go to Gatlinburg for a weekend while the grandparents babysat. Recently, various health problems have limited our celebrations. Hope springs eternal, however, and I believe that one of these days we will be able to do that again. I am looking forward to many more years to celebrate, so I don't mind waiting a little bit. Mainly, I just feel grateful knowing that we have made it this far, as many couples don't. Life is good...