happy anniversary

Forty-two years ago today my parents eloped.

I called this morning to wish them a happy anniversary and my dad yelled to my mom that it was almost wedding time.  He was recounting the exact hour that they had met at the church to say their vows with only a very few friends there privy to their secret.  You see, my mother was Jewish, my father, Catholic.  My mothers' father forbid them to see each other, let alone marry.

My father went on to tell me, this morning on the phone, how just the month before, on his birthday he had bought himself a yellow Camaro convertible.  It was the first year that Camaros were available and he went in and bought the lone one off the showroom floor.  In those days, batteries didn't come sealed as you had to add water yourself.  Apparently the dealership had forgotten to add water to the battery and it died on this very morning, forty-two years ago.  My father had taken the car to be washed just before heading to the church and that's where it died.  Some water to the battery, a jumpstart, and a quick wash later and he was off to the chapel.

I loved hearing him recount every detail.  I love that he has tucked it all away in his heart, precious because of what it all meant.  That washing the car was his final act of singleness.  That he was anxious over the dead battery because his bride was waiting.  I love how forty-two years later he still watches the clock to mark the hour.  I am so thrilled that the sweet lace dress my mother wore that day, off the rack from Saks, I got the chance to wear at my own wedding.

I love that today, so many years later, the two of them are out together alone for the day - looking for adventure.  Trying new things. Relsihing what they've been given and what they still have.

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!  Your marriage is not only a gift to each other but also to us, your children.  Thank you.