Actually, what I wanted to yak about was the Fourth of July. Fourth, Fun, Family, and Fifty. Justin and I will be married fifty years this fall, and our son and daughter-in-law surprised us with a small gathering of family and friends, and our original wedding party---
Don't laugh. Our wedding party was as small as we could make it. Our friend George, and Justin's sister, (my future sister-in-law) Charmaine stood up with us. Our parents, the minister, and Justin's grandmother were the only other guests. When we talked 'small wedding', we were seriously meaning 'small'. Actually, plan A was to sort of elope, but we settled for plan B, which included minimal family.
It was a cold and snowy day in November----and we had already postponed our tiny event once. Justin had pneumonia and my Dad had a horse wreck which resulted in a broken ankle. After the ceremony, Justin and I had a wreck when someone ran into his beautiful '57 Chevy.
So, standing in the snow, just barely croaking, was my new husband, my father with his ankle in a cast, and the rest of the crew. In those long ago days, everyone always opened up the hood and looked at the motor. Usually they sighed, nodded, and fixed whatever looked fixable. In this case, it worked, and we continued on our honeymoon.
And in those days, Gillette, Wy. was not a huge booming town. It was a quiet little village, and the only theater had just burned down. In the morning, the doors to the yellow and white '57 Chevy had frozen shut. I don't remember how long it took to unthaw them.
We finally started for home via Devil's tower. We were young, in love, and to shower us with loveliness, a beautiful full moon was rising above the Black Hills. I thought it was romantic, but Justin was frowning.
The Chevy was jerking. The Chevy had a bearing going out. The Chevy needed a doctor. We ended our honeymoon in a garage in Spearfish.
Now, fifty years later, we are planning on sailing to Alaska via Princess Cruise Lines. It's what I would call a perfect second honeymoon. We hope the boat doesn't sink. (This is the second time we celebrated with an Alaskan cruise---the picture below is from our 45th wedding anniversary)
Justin and I have fought, argued, laughed, raised our children, cried, and hopefully, matured a little. We've been blessed with great kids, grandkids, great-grandkids, family, friends and fun. And we're grateful our wedding day has provided us with many a merry telling and re-telling. With a start like that, the rest of our marriage seemed like a breeze!
Have a good and Godly day!
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