A Day to Remember (The happiest man on earth)

It wasn't her first marriage and it wasn't mine either. I had four adult children and she had a fourteen year old daughter. We both had been down this road and we knew a lot about disappointments and failures. But we were really in love; whole-hearted, fully committed, undeniably attracted and determined to make it a successful adventure in our lives. Without question we were best friends and had total trust in each other. There really is nothing like planning to live the rest of your life with your BFF (Thought I'd throw that in for you millennials). We had both been single for several years and though I had been "keeping an eye out", I'm pretty sure that she wasn't looking.

Actually Cheryl was an answer to my prayers, literally. I had recently prayed through, took myself out of the equation and had totally "left it with God" to point me in the right direction. If you are not a believer, you should try it sometime, as we say "let go and let God". It didn't happen immediately and it didn't happen on my timetable. But when it happened, it happened as surely as Tiny Tim tip-toed through the tulips. We fell in love and everything shouted out to us that this was the real thing. And it still is.

Granny wasn't keen on losing Angela to a stranger that had just stepped into her daughter's life and I don't blame her. I had to earn the right to be deserving of her beautiful daughter and granddaughter. So, we waited for a few months and had an awkward courting period for a couple of forty-somethings. I think that when my daughter Amy sat in Santa's (Harold) lap at the family Christmas gathering and told him that all she wanted was for Daddy and Cheryl to get married, it broke the ice and cleared the way to proceed. I was ready, had been ready, I knew in my heart that she was the answer to my prayers. She needed to see that I would make a suitable father figure for her daughter. I reckon that I must have passed because shortly afterwards she accepted my engagement ring and we set the date for early June.

As a matter of fact it was June the 4th, my oldest son's birthday. We did the planning ourselves (no Fraanck) and many of our collective families advised they would be coming. We also had many friends and work associates who wanted to see us joined in Holy matrimony. Cheryl's brother John and David were ordained ministers so we asked John to preside over the ceremony and David to say a prayer. Our kids can all sing so we asked Angela, Amy and Mendy and David to sing and we picked out some of our favorite pieces of music to play. Cheryl and I wrote our own vows, we got an arch to put in Granny's backyard and we rented some chairs for everyone to sit in and a PA system to play the music. Cheryl baked her famous sour cream pound cake with strawberry layers in between and placed them on a three-tier wedding cake stand. Everybody had a part and they played it well.

This was the second time around for both of us so we had no fear of the proceedings. Even though it rained heavily in the morning; the sun popped out and all was dry by the time the ceremony started. Everything went perfectly as planned; the singing was beautiful, the music over the PA was perfectly timed, everyone was seated properly by Darren and Michael, a string quartet played Pachelbel's canon as I walked Cheryl from the staircase on the back of the deck, John and Dave presided over the ceremony, Cheryl and I recited our vows in view of God and man, and we exchanged rings to seal the deal. We had dinner for all, cut the delicious cake and shared it with our guests, and  then we played lots of vintage music from Beethoven to the Ink Spots. Most of us, including Taylor and Kristofer, danced in Granny's backyard. I became the happiest man on earth. After celebrating our twenty-fifth anniversary this year, I still am.



My beautiful bride waits for ceremony to start with Granny and Angela

THE WEDDING

Radiant bride prepares her Mom







Michael escorts Mama to her seat

Beautiful bride descends the staircase

I escort my bride to the alter

Angela sings her solo

The ceremony

Bouquet toss to unmarried ladies

Cut the cake

Eat the cake

THE PROGRAM

 THE VOWS

THE PROOF

THE FAMILY GROUP PHOTOS

Cheryl's immediate family

My immediate family

Me and my bros Mike and Ted

Cheryl's extended family

My extended family

Three generations of Cheryl and her cousins

Granny's brothers and sisters



My work team from AT&T

THE AFTER WEDDING DINNER SOCIAL

I think Granny was happy

Fay and Ted with Ralph and Betty

Sweet Amy with Mike and Cynthia

Chatting with Barbara, Betsy and John



How many folks have their grandchildren dance at their wedding?

Little angels, Taylor and Kristofer



Pooped out after dancing

Brothers wedding waltz

I think we're in love



The happiest man on the planet and his lovely lady (I think we're singing to each other)


HONEYMOON ON SANIBEL ISLAND

Twists and Turns

As I was looking for birds to photograph in my backyard, I noticed this awesome branch in one of the white oak trees. I don't know if I have ever seen a branch with so many changes in direction. Obviously something happened every few years to cause the branch to take a turn in  a new direction. Maybe another branch provoked it to twist , or maybe someone intervened to cause a change in it's path. Whatever, the limb has continued growing, in spite of the challenges, and it continues to protrude into it's next phase. I doubt if trees have a growth plan, but I bet this one didn't expect so many changes on course.

How much like life is this. We, of course, have no plan at the beginning, we are dependent on others to guide and shape us and prepare us for the future. As we mature, we shape our own plans but things don't necessarily go as planned. How much like this limb would our life path look if we were a tree. Opportunity drives our direction and sometimes lack of opportunity. We move from coast to coast, planting seeds; hoping and wishing that things will go the way we plan. But it seldom does. Sometimes illness intervenes and causes severe alterations to our life scheme. No human life limb goes perfectly straight without twists and turns. We may look as curved and deviated as this tree limb as we veer through the obstacles that beset us. As for myself, I see a heavenly father waiting at each turn and providing a way to survive and waiting to lift me out of my circumstances.

I don't know about you, but if I were a tree limb, I think I might be even more twisted than this one. I have survived numerous attempts to divert my path, but I have persisted through the great hope that God provides. My faith sustains me and lifts me through every challenge.

What would your limb look like?

It must be spring

It always seems that winter will never end, the cold will not go away, the trees will not bud, the flowers will not bloom, the birds will never get warm; but every year it finally stops. The sun returns, the earth warms, the dirge of winter is slowly sapped away by God's grand plan, as all nature burst forth with new life and even the fowl of the air are energized to renew life, build nests, lay their eggs and start the cycle over again. It will take time for many to return from their warm hideaways, but many have stayed and endured the cold, the snow, the ice and other harsh rigors that have been thrown their way. We celebrate the survivors, the hardy ones who found some way to keep warm, the ones who instinctively forged ahead with a will to find a way to weather the storms of life.

Not unlike us, as we battle the diseases of life that threaten to take us away during the wintry trials that are thrown our way. We trust in a higher faith, one that always gives us hope in the direst circumstances, hope that God is still in control, hope that His promises are true, hope that we will be an example for others to see our faith in Him through our exigencies. Life is short for our little feathered friends on this earth, but hope grants us the strength to reach out for that which God has promised, eternal life. He watches over the sparrows of the field and He certainly watches over those who trust and believe in His word.

So never mind the winter storms that beset you, feed the birds when the storms are the worst, and your heavenly father will watch over you likewise. The trees are starting to bud now, the flowers are starting to bloom, the sun is shining and the great hope of spring is here. No matter what your plight, winter will end, it must be spring

 

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