35 Years of Wedded Bliss

Today is a very special day - my parents have 'survived' 35 years of marriage!

In the beginning:

Mom and Dad met years before I was born when Mom was eighteen on a hayride for achurch activity. The most memorable event of this first meeting was not the love felt by each party, nor was it the magnetic cause of attraction, instead the most memorable event from this first encounter was that Dad stole Mom’s shoelaces (good one Dad). Luckily for me, things looked up after that. Dad says that he really saw Mom earlier when he was a chaperone at youth conference and mom was eighteen. He says he danced with her at this youth conference and had seen her the night before sitting with some friends at testimony meeting. When Dad first moved up to Atlanta to go to school at Georgia State, Mom was sixteen and he had seen Mom casually at church.

Their first date was soon after the 'hayride incident' in a nice restaurant inside Davidson’s called Charlemont. At the beginning of the nice lunch, Dad made the mistake of asking for separate checks because he was used to going out with guys from the office. He quickly caught his mistake saving my future; they started dating from that point onward.

Mom left to go to school at Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho. My Dad was the one that took her to the bus station. At that time they were sort of committed, which was driving my Dad crazy. They spoke every Sunday and wrote letters and one night it came down to him giving Mom the ultimatum to marry him.

In a memorable trip across the country, my parents were married in the Ogden, Utah Temple on August 28, 1973.

I am so grateful they have made it to 35 years of marriage and have been able to weather the storms of life. I know they have such a great love and respect for one another. They have been an excellent example to me. As a child I loved seeing my parents hugging and kissing, it made me feel happy and secure - all five of us kids would use their embraces as an excellent opportunity for a makeshift game of London Bridge. Thank you Mom and Dad for making it to 35 years of wedded bliss and setting a great example for us to follow!