25th Wedding Anniversary

What were you doing on July 23, 1983 at 2:00 pm? I know where I was … walking down the isle to the church pipe organ sounding out “Here Comes The Bride”! That’s right, folks, today hubby man and I are celebrating our 25^th wedding anniversary! Gosh, we were just kids when we tied the knot. Oh, what a great ride it’s been! Let’s look back in time at 1983, shall we? How many of these sound familiar to you?

TV Shows: The A-Team premiered on NBC; the last episode of MASH aired, popular shows included Magnum PI, Newhart, The Love Boat, Dallas, and Hart to Hart.

Movies: Star Wars – Return of the Jedi, Flashdance, Sudden Impact, Risky Business, and Vacation

Music: “Dirty Laundry” by Don Henley, “Maneater” by Hall and Oates, “Mickey” by Toni Basil, “Rock The Casbah” by The Clash, “Hungry Like The Wolf” by Duran Duran, “Every Breath You Take” by Police, and “Sweet Dreams” by Eurythmics.

See the UST in the background? That's the windshield of our car and part of the words "Just Married!" written in shoe polish courtesy of the groomsmen. Whew, it was hot and humid that day, in the 90's with like 300% humidity, and the church's air conditioner had been struck by lightning the night before and was out of order. We brought in huge fans and set them all around the altar to help keep everyone cool. And although my dress was backless, it was adorned with those long, lacey, beaded sleeves ... in the heat. Love trumps all, though. Gosh, don't we look happy?! And YOUNG!

Politics: Ronald Reagan was US President, Lech Walesa received the Nobel Peace Prize.

Science: Sally Ride was the 1^st US Woman Astronaut in space as a crew member. Space Shuttle Challenger had successful maiden voyage. Hurricane Alicia battered Houston and Galveston.

Technology: Radio Shack announced Tandy Model 2000 Computer; The FCC authorized Motorola to begin testing Cellular Phone Service in Chicago (FYI: I spent the majority (almost 10 years) of my professional career in the Cellular Communications Industry.)

This was taken in the city garden park. It's one of my favorite pictures. I can see hubby man's ring shining on his finger. I think he was glad to sit because the shoes that came with the tux he rented were 2 sizes too small. That tux was a real pistol. All the tuxes were delivered on time except for his. He literally got possession of it just hours before the ceremony. He never mentioned any of this to me though; he didn't want me to worry about anything. Oh, and this is a photo of the original photo, so it's kind of wonky-warpy looking. (I think I just made up a word.)

We certainly have had many blessings and some heartache along the way. The good has been really, really good, and the heartache ... well, let's just say that we are really good in crisis mode. My hubby and I truly circle the wagons and pull together during a crisis. I truly believe these situations have been some of our finest hours. Let's recap:

Blessings:
- Each other (Hubby provided the correct answer of Yes, he would marry me again if he had the choice. Aw, nice guy.)
- 3 great children -- kind, loving, smart, and spiritual. Keepers they are, all three of them.
- 5 pets; 2 of whom are still with us. (Kitty cats)
- Health and plenty of food.
- Extended family. (Who call, email, and visit us and like it when we reciprocate.)
- Good friends, both old and new.
- Adventure of moving across country away from friends and family. (Exciting and sad at the same time.)
- Our own home complete with memories of birthdays, holidays, hugs, and kisses.
- Vacations both fancy and rustic.

Heartaches/Triumphs:
- Son's Epilepsy diagnosis. (This is one of those finest hour moments. He is amazing!)
- Son critically ill in 12/06. (Another one of those finest hour moments.)
- 3 Miscarriages that broke my heart.
- Deaths of Sister and Best Friend. (Both were in my wedding.)
- Deaths of both Mother In-Law and Father In-Law, and Adult Nephew Billy.
- Moving away from family. (Wish kids could play with their cousins and spend every holiday with relatives.)
- Getting run over crossing the street in the Virgin Islands on our honeymoon. OUCH! That was not fun. Nope, nada. When I asked hubby man if there is anything in the past 25 years that he'd do differently if he could, he said that he would look the other way before crossing the street on our honeymoon. (They drive on the opposite side of the road than what we are accustomed to.)

Shhhh ... don't tell anyone that I wasn't 21 yet when this toast was taking place! Our reception was the best party ever! We danced and danced, and laughed and laughed. My Italian relatives all drove to Indiana, and hubby felt like the Mafia had arrived with all those bold Italian men with their dark hair and white shirts. Of course, we danced the Tarantella just the same as all my relatives before me. The colors are fading in these photos. I actually have very dark hair and hubby man was blond back then. Plus, the bubbly we are drinking is, well, bubbly colored not apple cider color. This is another photo of a photo in an album, so you can see the vignette mat around our heads. oops. I wonder what the blogsphere will be like when I celebrate my 50th anniversary! Happy Day everyone ... have some wine and chocolate, and hug the ones you love!