Celebrating Our Wedding Anniversary and the Secrets for a Long-Lasting Marriage

 

Celebrating Our Anniversary!

Hello and welcome to the Focused on Story Blog with J.Q. Rose!

Yes, we are celebrating 52 years of marriage on June 14! Whew. But we're not having much of a celebration. Both of our daughters are on separate vacations this week with their families. During the day, I am helping serve a luncheon for retired teachers and that evening I have to be at the library to serve refreshments for a speaker's presentation on shipwrecks in the Great Lakes. So romantic, do you agree??

52 years ago

Fifty-two years is a long marriage. Funny how fast life has gone since the day we decided to get married. We met on a blind date in 1963, the summer before our junior year in high school. 

My mom loved him from the moment she pulled back the curtain from the window and peeked out at the young man who was stepping up the stairs to our front porch. She turned back to me, her eyes twinkling, and whispered, "He's cute!"

I opened the front door, smiling as bright as I could while trying to keep the butterflies in my tummy in check. He stood tall and fidgeted a bit as his dark brown eyes caught mine. I had to agree with Mom. He was a cutie.

We had a great time at the Illinois State Fair with his older sister and her date and Freddie, who arranged the blind date, and his girlfriend. However, his sister's 1947 Chevy broke down in Springfield, IL as we started the hour's drive back to Atlanta, my hometown. Instead of getting home by midnight as my parents requested, we arrived at 3 a.m. Yes, we did find a phone to call home to let everyone know we were going to be late.

Prom

We went steady through our junior year, broke up, got back together, broke up after graduation so he could go to the Air Force, and I could experience college life. We got back together, broke up, and so it goes. Can you blame me when I told him to either marry me or get out of my life? By that time, I was teaching third grade in Galesburg, IL. We were parked in a grassy area near the lake and in a deeply serious discussion about our future together when we heard branches rustling and voices in the bushes just behind the car. We twisted around to look through the car's back window to discover where the noise came from. As we swept our eyes over the green area, two little boys raced out of the woods and down the road. We laughed so hard at them eavesdropping on us that the intense discussion faded from our thoughts. We knew we loved each other and wanted to spend our lives together.

Since that big realization and decision to marry, we have been on many adventures together! I think we were mature enough to make a lifetime commitment to each other. No, it has not been all rainbows and lollipops for fifty-two years. Marriage is a lot of work and a lot of compromise.

Fun together

I wrote about one of the turning points/adventures in our lives--the purchase of a flower shop and greenhouse operation in Fremont, Michigan. We had disagreements and sorrow. But we had joy and happiness too. Through it all, we supported each other and actually grew closer, becoming a strong team to meet any problem and conquer it.

Our grandson is getting married in June 2023. If he ever asks what is the secret to having a long-lasting marriage, I would first tell him to love each other and respect each other.    Communicate with her and listen to each other. (I must admit even after all this time, we still have breakdowns in communication.) When you commit to each other during the wedding ceremony, always keep in mind that commitment to be true to each other.

June is the month for brides. Are you a June bride? What advice would you give to a young couple about marriage?

Thank you for stopping in today and celebrating with me! I appreciate your support!

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Time to Remember: Our Wedding Anniversary, This Week

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. 

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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This Week:

Travelogue on Thursday on the J.Q. Rose bl

Thursday, July 18-- A Tribute to My Dad and The Travelogue continues!

See you on Thursday!

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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