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Friday, January 15, 2010

Something Old, Something New

As the old adage goes: something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.

Not that I would be superstitious. No, it's tradition! So the morning of January 15, 1977, I dragged my maid of honor (well, matron, I guess) to a Penney's store and found a blue garter that I could throw away. Hey, it qualified for the traditional garter, something new, and the blue. And the garter I wore on my other leg (that I wouldn't dare throw away) had belonged to (borrowed from) my mom. So ... in my estimation at the time ... old.

It was the first year that the Air Force was celebrating the commemoration of Martin Luther King's birthday, so our wedding had to be postponed by two hours. No problem.

My m-o-h had helped me move stuff into our new townhome, and Mark would move his things in after the honeymoon. In the meantime, that townhome became my home base. And that morning was when I remembered that I had forgotten the new blue garter.

Due to circumstances that I will not dive into here, I was on edge that morning and was working just to smile.

At the Air Force chapel, veil in place, I took my father's arm. He walked me down the aisle, gave me away, then stepped up to the platform to co-officiate with another chaplain.

That's when I noticed something. Whether from prompting by others to keep the blood flowing, or from sheer fright, Mark's knees were knocking. What an auspicious beginning: me on edge and Mark's knees knocking.

If God gives us the days, my goal is 79 years like Grandma and Grandpa Nelson!

But here we are, by God's grace, 33 years later. Somewhat older, but somewhat newer. Too much borrowed...and sometimes (but not often) blue.