Share a Memory

Beth Gallagher

Beth Gallagher

Well-known member
I mentioned in another thread that today is our wedding anniversary... 39 years! My husband and I were trying to decide where to go for dinner today which brought back the memory of this day 39 years ago.

To set the scene... we were both divorced and had small children, three for him and two for me. We had moved in together and planned to be together though we hadn't really talked about marriage. As fate would have it, the company that we both worked for was reorganizing and moving my husband's entire research group from Houston to Baton Rouge LA. We were trying to figure things out and inquired about a transfer for me, but I worked in IT and could not be included in the department move. That is... unless we were married. (You may see where this is going.)

So. We decided why not get married; we were living together anyhow and the kids were all happy with their 'new family.' We didn't want a big deal wedding but we did want the children to be part of the ceremony, so they all were. My two bonus daughters were 2 and 3 years old; they had matching dresses and bouquets. Our 3 little sons wore suits and stood with my husband; they were all so solemn but excited. And so, we all got married.

Here's the fun thing... the little wedding chapel where we married was previously a pest control company and still had a giant termite mounted on top of the building. (I'll bet none of you were married under the giant termite!!). 👾 It was pouring rain that evening, and when the quick ceremony was over we piled into the car and asked the kids where they wanted to have our wedding supper. The unanimous choice was McDonalds. 🤣 Big Macs for everyone!

Since it was pouring rain we elected to go through the drive-thru. What a great supper we had. Well, actually we had a small reception with wedding cake and other stuff at our house later that evening for family to attend. It was one of the best wedding days ever.

The little wedding chapel is long gone, but that termite is still mounted on the roof of that building. Some things are just built to last, and for 39 years our marriage has been one of them. Oh, and the point of this story... when trying to decide where to have dinner today, we seriously considered McDonald's drive-thru but ultimately went with seafood. :D And yep, I did get that transfer to Baton Rouge.

Now, please share a special memory of yours.
 
Well, I'm not sure this is suitable for all you old folks but here goes.

When we were newlyweds, we lived in a house that had been divided into three apartments. There was a family living upstairs. There were two apartments downstairs. The bedrooms of the downstairs apartments were divided by a thin wall so that you could hear sounds from the adjoining apartment.

We had a cheap bed that was what we could afford back then.

We were deeply involved in consummating our wedding vows when the bed collapsed with a loud crash. I have often wondered what the neighbors thought. 🤣

We had many a good laugh about that through the years.

I am not able to tell you what hubby said about it due to privacy laws. ;)😂

And with that, I bid you all goodnight.
 
The crypt of the Dome in Augsburg with the kneeling bench on top of a grave plate. Fine but Mumsy showed up as huge shadow, I was late, forgot the vows and dropped my flowers. SO caught a streamer and retrieved the contraband, pushed his script my way while he rattled it down. I had wet feet from stepping into a snow slush puddle with Mali patent leather pumps and hand knitted cotton stockings. Blister heaven. But we looked good in Bavarian dress. Halloween!
 
Shirley Martin said:
Well, I'm not sure this is suitable for all you old folks but here goes.

When we were newlyweds, we lived in a house that had been divided into three apartments. There was a family living upstairs. There were two apartments downstairs. The bedrooms of the downstairs apartments were divided by a thin wall so that you could hear sounds from the adjoining apartment.

We had a cheap bed that was what we could afford back then.

We were deeply involved in consummating our wedding vows when the bed collapsed with a loud crash. I have often wondered what the neighbors thought. 🤣

We had many a good laugh about that through the years.

I am not able to tell you what hubby said about it due to privacy laws. ;)😂

And with that, I bid you all goodnight.
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The neighbors were green with envy.
 

The song "Secret Love" and my 1st crush. We had been close friends for so long, and I had developed feelings for him, feelings that I kept hidden for years, but every time I tried to tell him how I really felt, the words just wouldn't come out! I bought this song on a 45 RPM record and gave it to him. I wrote on a card, "This song says how I really feel. I am leaving for college soon, and I was wondering if there is any way we can be more than just friends, do you feel the same way about me too?" Omg I let it all out, and it came out like a river that had been held back for years.... It was almost time for college, and I would be gone, and I had to tell him somehow, some way, and this was how I decided to do it. I figured, even if he ended up hating me, I would know that for once in my life, I gave it my best try! I never heard back from him, and I was devastated. It was away to college and all that came with that. In and out of relationships, I never really forgot this song and what it meant to me. I still can't listen to it without crying ;(. He did contact me many years later on a classmate's website. He had been married and divorced several times, had kids, etc. He wanted to take me to dinner, but I politely declined, saying "It's better this way, the way it always was....just friends." It was painful yes, but in a different way. He never mentioned the song....but I knew in my heart of hearts....he knew what it meant, and why I gave it to him, and maybe that was why he decided to contact me...40 years later.
 
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Marie Mallory said:
How long together begore you got married?
Jake and I met in 1978 I had 3 kids ,lived together for 4 yr. married in 1982.
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We had two dates (the first one was a blind date) and then we got married. There were nine months between the two dates, granted, but we didn't see each other the whole time. The courtship was by letter and phone calls.

He was on the west coast in the service and I was on the east coast in college. We met when he was home on leave and I was home from college. Mutual friends introduced us.

When we did get married, there was a 3-day waiting period between applying for the license and actually getting married. Because he couldn't get home in time for that, I had to get the Army involved and a Sargent from the local base had to come with me to the license bureau with the proper papers. How romantic.....not. He got home in time to pick up the license and we went to get some cheap wedding rings. They were 14-carat-gold but on sale for $20 each. I finally got an engagement ring for our 25th anniversary.

We had a nice little church wedding, a short honeymoon and then he took off overseas. I followed shortly.

We made it for 37 years before he died.
 
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