Today is, or would have been my parents wedding anniversary. 63 years ago today they were married.

Mom was beautiful in a tea length dress that she bought in New York. She was there on a buying trip for the department store she worked at before they were married. Dad had a little too much to drink ahead of time. It was a morning wedding followed by a wedding breakfast so his helping to tap the keg ahead of time did not go over too well with my Mom. The pictures have him with a little boy sheepish look on his face and her, shall we say, a little stern.

Memories and stories keep floating through my head. Almost every year Dad would make a proclamation like “twelve beautiful years”, followed by Mom saying “we’ve been married twenty two years”. Dad would then grin and say . . . “yes, twelve beautiful years”. She would give him a dirty look followed by a grin.

Life was not perfect everyday. They had their tough times just like every couple but they worked through it. They made us feel safe and secure. There was never any doubt that our Father loved our Mother and that the family came first.

Daddy really believed that the greatest gift a father could give his children was to love their mother. He always showed us that he not only loved but respected her. When I was little he would come home from work and ANYTHING my Mom put on the table was the best meal he ever had. After dinner, he would say, come on Katie, lets do the dishes, you know your Mother worked hard today. Wow, what an example.

Mom and Dad, I hope you are having a party in Heaven. I know Mom is as beautiful as always . . . I hope she let’s Dad tap the keg.