Two months before my wedding, our friend Merle suggested that Carol-Ann and I sleep over at her house one night. That sounded like great fun, so we got on the bus and over we went.I'm sure Carol-Ann was in on it, but I was totally unsuspecting! I was too new to all the North American ways to even realize or think about a lot of things. In fact, I am sure there were many breaches of etiquette on my part because I did not know the customs or understand what was expected.
How shocked I was to find a whole group of my friends, ladies young and not so young, from church! Merle and everyone gave me the best time and made me feel very special.
Carol-Ann, Beth, Merle, and Marilyn busily chatting (one of the things we all do best) while watching me open my gifts!
Opening the special gift of the evening, one that my friends went together to buy for me -- a lovely white negligee set. I had never had anything nearly that elegant and beautiful! And I'll always be grateful to my friends for knowing me so well and getting me something I would love and enjoy wearing.
I have been thinking back 30 years and realizing once again how very blessed I was to have friends and a church family who loved me and went WAY out of their way to make this time in my life perfect for me.My parents were still living in Liberia, and the only communication we had was letters that took weeks to go back and forth. My church family took me in and did so much for me. To be honest, I didn't know what I was doing, had absolutely no money, and wanted almost nothing! So when they asked me what I needed or wanted, I could not even give them hints! They were not put off by that and came up with what was exactly right for me. Now those were true friends!
.
5 comments:
The memories of those days are just amazing, aren't they! The Doug and Heather Shantz era of our lives! Yours was the first of a whole line of domino weddings -- every gal in that pic found her "somebody"! We were all late bloomers!!!!
Yes, C-A! I have so much respect and admiration for those two! They will be in some of the pictures in the next couple of days, as well.
All of us found our "somebody." (I wasn't THAT late of a bloomer, but I'm not sure what to say about the rest of you guys!) The good thing about late bloomers is that they are less likely to make a mistake!
Oh, you were the spring chicken, Babe! I think all of the rest of us were almost 30 or over -- I believe Marilyn was probably in her 50's even -- not sure!
I was 23 when I married Mark, who was 27 at the time. I thought I was all grown up. But I look back now and realize how young I really was!
I was 24 and Barry was 26... We felt grown up, but look at all the growing we had to do since then! And we're not done yet!
Post a Comment