Something blue

Well, here it is, almost October. Today, I'm sitting in my parents' living room as I type this because my computer died. I came to help my mom get some stuff ready for my sister's wedding this weekend. She's getting married on Friday in downtown Greenville (aka "greatest city on earth"). All this talk about marriage and holy matrimony has my mind reeling. You know how it goes, you're at a bridal shower, bridal portrait session, looking at bridal fill-in-the-blanks, and the conversation turns to "Well, I had this or that at my wedding", or someone else says "I remember so-and-so had those at her wedding", or "Make sure they tie that knot good and tight, Heidi!" haha. Haha indeed. It seems that weddings are more than just two people saying their vows before God and family. No, that's what a marriage is. A wedding is a party- plain and simple. A wedding is a time for everyone to see all the beauty and wonder of love between two people, and we just can't help but reflect on that time in our lives when we were that blissfully happy.

My husband and I met in college. I was 18 yrs old. I remember him asking me to be his bride, down to what he was wearing and every single detail. We were in the Smoky Mtns with his parents on a weekend vacation after Thanksgiving. We went to dinner with them, and afterwards, we went to Walmart to pick up some things we had forgotten to pack. When we walked in the store, his mother pointed out some VERY fake diamond rings they had on sale in a display. The price tag said "$8.88". We laughed and I put one on my finger to see how gawdy they looked,.. and they were GAWDY! (Imagine taking your grandmother's crystal candy dish, put a tiny plastic adjustable ring on the back of it, and wear it on your finger). His mom joked with him, "Hey! Let's do this thing right, Son! You can pay for this with a 10 and get some change back!". Little did we know, he had the real thing in his pocket the whole time. That night, we got back to the hotel, and he asked me to go to his room to look at something he was worried about. I'm thinking he's ripped a whole in his sock, or slammed his toe on the door or something. I go next door and he has the whole room lit with candles. A white table cloth on the table by the window overlooking the lights from the city below us in the mountains held two small bears. One was dressed as a bride, and the other had on a tux. The bride bear had a gorgeous diamond ring on her arm. When I picked her up to look at her, I saw the ring, and he got on one knee and grabbed my right hand. He took the ring and said "Trudy, I love you forever. Will you marry me?" Okay, so the bear thing was kinda cheesey, but I know he was so proud of them and had planned ahead and it was so cute how much thought he put into it. And he did put the ring on my right hand, but I didnt' correct him. It didn't matter. I was the happiest girl on the face of the earth. That man was going to be my husband for the rest of my life and I couldn't wait. We were so excited, we ran to his parents' room and beat the door down to show them. It was so hard to keep it a secret the next day from my family until that night, when I would get to see them in person. I didn't want to tell them over the phone. Needless to say, they were thrilled when they saw us that night.

I'm proud of Heidi finding someone like Paul. He's the kind of brother in law anyone would want, and I know he loves my little sister and will care for her the rest of her life. The wedding is going to be absolutely beautiful. I wish them the best.