Celebrating 30 Years

This past weekend we went down to Richmond to help Bob's sister Ann and her husband Wally celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary with a renewing of their vows. Bob's parents were there, as well as 4 of Bob's 5 siblings and their families. We just spent one night there, going down Saturday and coming back late Sunday night. The worst part of the trip was the drive down I-95. It's about 110 miles, and it took us 4 hours. Not fun! We knew it would be crazy coming back up Sunday night, so we went some backroads. It took us about 2 1/2 hours, but at least we were moving! But I digress . . .

We had a wonderful visit. Really, it was one of the best ones. I will confess I was a little worried, given how our last visit ended up, but it was great. No problems. The ceremony was just lovely. It was actually during the church service. Their pastor, whom we liked very much, preached a sermon on God's purpose and plan for marriage, and then they played a brief slideshow of pictures of Ann and Wally that a friend put together. He did a great job. Then Paul and Bob walked Jane and Rose down the aisle, followed by Ann and Wally's 21 year old daughter Christi, who carried their rings on a pillow. Then Maddie and Amanda, Rose's daughters, acted as flower girls, and were so cute. Then their son Matthew walked Ann down the aisle. They went through their vows again, as well as putting on the rings. It was really neat.

My friend Christine said something neat about celebrating anniversaries. She said that when you celebrate a couple's marriage, you are really just celebrating the love they have for the IDEA of each other, but when you celebrate a couple's 30th wedding anniversary, you are celebrating the love they have for each other, because now they really know the other person, and have chosen to stick with him or her! The pastor made a good impression on Bob's parents, in part, I think, because he talked up their 58 year marriage, and said they had left a legacy behind them. And it is certainly true that except for Rose, the other siblings have had very long marriages--Dennis and Dotty for 28 years, Paul and Sherry for 22, Jane and Terry for 21, and then last but not least, us at 13. Yes, we're by far the babies of the group!

After the service was over, we took a bunch of pictures and then went back to their house for an open house. A lot of church friends came, as well as some neighbors. Anna reveled in all the attention, as I don't think she got set down one single time! The boys had a fun time with their cousins, running through the sprinkler, playing volleyball, having a water balloon toss, and so on. Boy, was it steamy outside--I think even more humid than here! It was a good weekend. Next weekend we are gone again--this time up to Rose's. She has a support hearing next Monday morning, and Bob is going to go with her as a show of support. Ann and Wally are going up too, so we'll just continue the party then!