Fairytale

Honestly much of the life we have lived doesn't seem like it could be ours--looking back--now feels like sitting in stadium seats at the local theater while watching someone else's story. We started in so much trouble, drenched in shame and humiliation. Our parents were so hurt. At 15 and 19 with a shotgun at the wedding, we had failure stamped across our foreheads.

Today, 44 years later, we pinch ourselves to make sure we're not dreaming . . . and we're not.

The dress in this photo, I wore 4 years ago when we turned our anniversary into a wedding. I bid for the dress on eBay and won. ;-) It was $39.00, a total of $50 with shipping as it came from the UK--Wales to be exact. It's a mermaid dress . It accentuated my small waistline and it had the bonus of long sleeves, which I liked to cover my arms which aren't so small. Strapless was and is the fashion, but I wasn't about to wear strapless.

I also liked the idea of "mermaid" style since Peter Pan has always been one of my favorite children's stories. Stupid, huh! I like the idea of never growing-up. A favorite saying the two of us have is "We're not to the up yet!"

Four years ago when the dress arrived, I didn't let Mr. Fun see it until the actual moment in the ceremony when the organ sounded the first chords of "Here Comes the Bride." The doors to the church sanctuary swung open and the two of us stood staring at each other from opposite ends of the church aisle. The music stopped and Mr. Fun walked the length of the aisle to bring me my bouquet of three lavender roses. I put my hand in his and together we walked to the front to face a room filled with friends.

It was a celebration moment that neither of us will ever forget. We showed a video slide-show of our 40 years, enhanced with the music that had punctuated each season. In a brief summary we told the story of all the years, and then a friend led us through the renewal of our vows.

We had chartered two buses to take friends to a surprise destination evening banquet--a fabulous and delicious moment. Yes, it decreased our piggy-bank, but we focused on the dividend rather than the expense, and we trimmed costs in feasible ways, like an eBay wedding dress, few flowers, and no professional photographer.

So this morning I surprised Mr. Fun when I came out of the guest bedroom wearing the wedding dress. A flood of emotion and memories carried us into a lengthy conversation of reminiscing and again celebrating. He grabbed the camera and took lots of photos. It's a beautiful dress and I feel beautiful in it, but I'm most comfortable showing the photo above.

I think this wedding addiction all started when Mom wouldn't let me wear a white wedding dress. We did get married again on our 10th (with a borrowed dress), again on our 20th, on our 30th we skipped the wedding and went on a honeymoon, so for the fortieth we both had a hunger for a wedding and this time a full-blown dinner reception.

So after last night's rehearsal dinner, this evening we are off to the elegance of the Mission Inn for our anniversary dinner and to celebrate the surprise of the last 44 years. A relationship that no one would have predicted, and a love that has been enhanced because at our 10th anniversary we were introduced to the One who did His first miracle at a wedding.

Tonight we'll raise our glasses to toast the One who created Love, the One who came to break rules and build romance. We'll also be toasting our family, especially our two kids who have had to live with parents who were so completely unprepared. We'll also toast the many friends who have encouraged us on life's highway. Oh, and we'll definitely be toasting all of our "blip" friends who have added enormously to life's celebration since January when we discovered this amazing place.

So, from Southern California we wish all of you a wonderful celebration, wherever you are.
Rosie & Mr. Fun, aka Carol