A Celebration of Love

Ann H GabhartAnn's Posts, One Writer's Journal 43 Comments


A wedding anniversary is the celebration of love, trust, partnership, tolerance and tenacity. The order varies for any given year. ~Paul Sweeney

Happy anniversary to my husband and to me. We’re celebrating many years together today. We’ve had a way of celebrating in some different ways some years and typical ways other years. So far we haven’t gone on cruises or elaborate trips. November isn’t the greatest time of year for that, but that’s when we tied the knot.

My sister was my maid of honor. A buddy from college was my husband’s best man. I got my best friend to play the wedding march. She missed some of the notes, but I walked down the aisle anyway. Only our families were there. I was very young. Too young in most people’s eyes. My husband was a few years older than me, but young too. I wore a hat with a little veil and a pencil slim dress. I still have the dress but no way could I get into it now. Some things you just keep.

That November day was wintry when we showed up at the little church my husband and his family were attending and said our vows. Rain mixed with snowflakes. By morning ice had coated the car. That’s one of my husband’s oft repeated memories from the first morning of our marriage – how he had to chisel ice off the car door to get it open. We went to Cumberland Falls on our honeymoon. It stayed cold but we wore our winter coats and went down to view the falls. We ate at the lodge restaurant even though we stayed at a cheaper motel down the road. We were sorry we chose the lodge to eat because the menu prices were too high for the money in our pockets. It took forever to get the hamburgers we ordered. I remember we joked about how they probably never cooked hamburgers for dinner at that restaurant.

Since then, we’ve shared a lot of anniversaries. Some more romantic than others. Our first anniversary we already had a baby and by the time I got the baby to sleep, my husband was snoring away. Sigh. I’m sure by the next year we figured out something more romantic, but if so, I don’t remember. Advance through the years and we added two more children. Busy times. Fun times. Sometimes the kids had events, basketball games, or who knows what now on our anniversary date.

Some years my mom kept the kids when they were little so we could go out to dinner. Once I remember we went off for an overnight stay at a state park. Took a wrong road on the way and spent extra hours cutting across country to get back to where we had reservations. Later, after Darrell started singing with a gospel quartet and our anniversary fell on Sundays, we celebrated a few years at whatever church had invited the group to sing. I remember Darrell standing on the pulpit and telling everybody we’d been married forty years. Made me feel ancient. Ah, to be that age again. LOL.

Some of the years, the Kentucky Book Fair fell on our anniversary date and we celebrated by me getting to go talk readers into giving one of my books a try. Darrell would come in support. On those days we were still able to head out for a special dinner after the Book Fair. We were even able to order something fancier than hamburgers sometimes. 🙂

One year we celebrated by walking in the St Jude Walk for the Cure. That was while my great-niece was treating for cancer at St. Jude. I still go do the St. Jude walk each year. We can never repay St. Jude for finding treatments to cure my niece and the many other children they help. But they’ve changed the date for the St. Jude walk so that it isn’t in November these days. However, our church does have a Thanksgiving dinner every year on the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Hmm, that’s sometimes November 19th the way it was today. Darrell asked me Friday how we were going to celebrate our anniversary. I told him I didn’t know what he was doing, but I was cooking a turkey.

We did have a big celebration a few years ago when the kids had a party for us to celebrate 50 years. The party was on the weekend after our anniversary or maybe before, so I’m sure we went out to dinner on the actual day. Maybe. If something else wasn’t happening.

I’m blessed to have had the chance to celebrate so many good years with a man who loves God, loves me and loves his family. As my dad used to say when he’d look around the table at all of us and our families gathered there, look what we started. All from that beginning in a little church many years ago.

As always, thanks for reading and celebrating with me on this anniversary.

Comments 43

  1. Well, Ann, my first tr comment didn’t make much sense in reply to your comment. I’ll try again. Yes, we are in the minority in today’s society. However, in our generation I have several friends and acquaintances that have been married 50 and plus years.

    Reply
    1. Post
      Author

  4. Congratulations and Happy 50th Anniversary. As I read your blog post I was amazed at the similarities of the beginnings of our marriages. Gerald and I will celebrate our 49th Anniversary on December 14. Our small wedding was in my home church and I wore a street-length white knit dress and a white pill box hat with a veil similar to the hats that Jackie Kennedy made popular. I had just started a new job so we only had Saturday night and Sunday for a honeymoon and we had intended to spend the night in Lexington but a sudden snowstorm caused us to change our plans. Instead of driving 60 miles we decided to travel about 20 miles and staying in a motel in Aberdeen, Ohio, which is across the Ohio River from Maysville. When we returned to the small house that we were renting from his sister, we discovered frozen pipes and no water. I was 18 and he was 2O and none of these setbacks mattered. They just prepared us for many more setbacks over the years and strengthed our faith and our love because like you, I was blessed with a Godly husband. That means everything!
    Happy Thanksgiving!
    Connie Saunders

    Reply
    1. Post
      Author

      Happy almost anniversary, Connie. There were a lot of similarities in our wedding and marriage beginnings. And we’ve all hung in there too, haven’t we? Actually we are a few years past our 50th. Heading toward 60, I guess.

      Setbacks do come to us all, but if you were like us, you never expected everything to always go smooth. You just dealt with whatever came along. I remember always feeling blessed that when we did have a financial need – maybe a broken appliance or the kids needed something at school – somehow we always came up with the necessary funds. Day by day blessings throughout our many years together.

      Reply

  5. A blessed and happy anniversary to you both. Our 50th is coming up in March. We talked about it with our oldest son today when he stopped by. Can’t make up my mind what to do, party or escape to the mountains.

    Reply
    1. Post
      Author

      That 50 year milestone is a big one, Helen. We talked through a lot of options when we were thinking about ours a few years ago. We considered a family trip which would have been great but it’s hard to get four families able to take time off and get together on plans sometimes. So we did the reception. That was fun and my kids and their spouses made it really special. I didn’t have to do a thing except talk to everybody who came to wish us happy anniversary. But escape to the mountains sounds really fun. 🙂

      Reply
    1. Post
      Author

  7. Hi Ann,
    Congratulations on your anniversary. I’m very sure you have a lot of good memories. I know I do, I was married for 56 years before I lost him last year and I treasure every memory I have. God bless and may you have many, many more wonderful years.

    Reply
    1. Post
      Author

      I know you still miss your husband, Fran, and I’m glad you have so many good memories of your years together to comfort your heart. I missed seeing you at the Book Fair, but I did get to talk to your librarian. She told me you headed on home after the meeting. The Book Fair went really well. I sold out of my new book, These Healing Hills, but not my mysteries. On kids’ day I sold a lot of my kids’ book, Freak of the Week. That was fun – talking to all those kids. Hope you have a blessed Thanksgiving.

      Reply
    1. Post
      Author

      So glad you enjoyed reading about all the ways we’ve celebrated our anniversary over the years, Nicole. I appreciate you stopping by and your anniversary wishes.

      Reply
    1. Post
      Author

      Always fun to see your comments, Paula. I’m so glad you stop by to read my this and that blog. I do have a beautiful family and what a blessing that is.

      Reply

  10. Happy Anniversary and God Bless,Ann and Darrell! May God gift you with many more years together! 🎊Psalm 45 & Song of Songs 4:3🎊💜❣️👍👏

    Reply
    1. Post
      Author
    1. Post
      Author

      Happy anniversary plus a few months, Karen. Somehow those years can keep piling on. We are an example of faithful partnerships in marriage.

      Reply

      1. No it doesn’t. In the past couple of generations it’s hard to find someone that hasn’t been through or touched by divorce. 😟😢😟

        Reply
    1. Post
      Author

      Thanks, Pat. Marriage is about love and laughter to get through the little irritations of living with somebody. I read once advice from a long married woman who said she made a list of ten things she wasn’t going to let upset her about her husband. When asked what those ten things were, she said she didn’t remember. She just let whatever was bothering her at the moment be on the list. Good advice.

      Reply

  13. Happy ❤️ Anniversary to you and your husband! It sounds like you’ve had a blessed and wonderful life! Congratulations!

    Reply
    1. Post
      Author
    1. Post
      Author

  15. My husband and I were married on our college campus by the president of the college. He was a Baptist minister (Roland S. Burhans). We were married on a hot Friday night. We started our finals on Monday morning!
    I know what you mean when you say there was not much money in your pocket.
    God has been good to the two of you and has been good to my sweetie and me.

    Reply
    1. Post
      Author

      Thanks for sharing about when you married. I’m guessing the two of you may have had a studying weekend with finals on the way. But as you say God has been good to us and so glad you feel the same about your marriage.

      Reply
    1. Post
      Author

      Thanks so much, Kathi. I appreciate those of you who read my posts and comment too. What I write here is like writing a letter to friends.

      Reply

  17. Happy Anniversary! We’ve had years when one of the other of us were sick on our anniversary, and one year my husband had poison oak and didn’t want me to touch him!

    Reply
    1. Post
      Author

      Ahh, romance through the years, Margaret. 🙂 But that’s one thing about sharing so many years together. Lots can happen on that anniversary day. As I told my husband, we can celebrate any day. It’s good to remember the day we married, but today, the day after, next week or even next year we can do something special and say it’s our celebration time.

      Reply
    1. Post
      Author
    1. Post
      Author

  20. You are truly blessed. I only had 41 years with my husband. We loved each other so much. Then cancer invaded our life and took him. Congratulations on making it so long. Cherish each other and give thanks to God for each day you have together.

    Reply
    1. Post
      Author

      I understand that the 50 year mark is sometimes hard to reach for couples. My mom and dad didn’t get there. Darrell’s mom and dad didn’t get there. One of my sisters did make the 50 year mark with her husband, but he was dying of cancer. Not a time to celebrate. My other sister’s husband died before they reached the 50 years together. You didn’t have enough years with your husband, Jean, but it’s good that the years you did have together were loved filled and great to remember. May those memories continue to comfort you as the years pass.

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.