Front Porch Stories: It’s the memories and sharing them
By KATHY BOHANNON, Special to The Weekly
Seattle, Washington is the only place that my husband John and I have both been to, but not at the same time.
He traveled there a few times for business and I went with a friend to board a scrapbooking cruise to Alaska. At the time I was planning to go, John told me to be sure to visit Pike Place Market. He and I have talked about the market from time to time and we agree that we need to go there together and also take that Alaskan cruise.
We just celebrated our 47th wedding anniversary, and we will be waiting another couple of years before we take that journey. Maybe on our 50th, but as long as we get there, it doesn’t really matter when. Once you’ve been married over four decades, the years start blending together. How many times were we in the Bahamas? We don’t know. What year did we go to Maine? Cancun? St. Maarten? No idea. We just know we went, and the best part is that we share those great memories together.
We were married on Thanksgiving Day in 1976. My mom teased me on my wedding day, saying that’s two Thanksgivings she had to miss since I was also born on Thanksgiving Day. I don’t recall much about my wedding day except that my soon-to-be husband’s mom and my mom had to do a rapid alteration of my wedding dress. I also remember his uncles jokingly telling me not to worry, my groom would be along as soon as the football games were over. And I can never, ever forget seeing him standing at the altar waiting for me to walk down the aisle.
There aren’t many pictures from that day. Some were lost in a fire while others were lost while still on the rolls of film. Of course, these days there are not many brides who have to worry about rolls of film being lost or damaged, and that is something to be grateful for.
John traveled all over the world for business in the years before he retired. For the exception of local trips, I accompanied him only to Paris, France because his assignments were typically short. We added a week or so in France, but he wasn’t able to extend his time very often. He wanted me to go to Australia every time he was scheduled to go, but I’d need a whole month for a trip like that. Australia isn’t on my bucket list, but Paris was one of my top destinations and that particular trip happened to be in the spring, which made it perfect in every way.
In our 47 years, our number increased to eleven, which includes our daughter and her family as well as our son and his. Sadly, our overall family has decreased by his sister, our parents, a step parent, my oldest sister and two brother in laws. We have seen the most devastating times as a grandchild was diagnosed with cancer, but we have also seen incredible blessings as she is now in remission.
I was 17 and he was 22 when we spoke our vows. Someone once said we were “lucky” to have been married so long. I explained it’s not luck. We gave our marriage to God on day one. We asked Him to guide us in everything, especially when we didn’t seek Him. If we can attribute one thing to such a lifetime of togetherness, it’s this: invite God in. It’s never too late.
Kathy Bohannon is a freelance writer. She can be reached at [email protected].
