Mom planned the wedding. I was in exams. It was beautiful and memorable, etc., but had it been me doing the planning, it would have been a quiet ceremony with just family and a few friends. But that's my style... not my mom's. And it was fun (after a glass or two of champagne - I'm NOT a drinker, it was even more fun).
We were married in downtown New Orleans and stayed at one of the hotels in the French Quarter for a few days. We went to see 'Camelot' (the old musical with Richard Harris and Vanessa Redgrave). To this day I LOVE that movie. We saw it in the old Sanger Orleans theater on Canal St. (which is gone now... as well as most of the stores, etc. from that era).
Now 45 years, 3 children and 4 grandchildren down the road, I have to say that it hasn't all been fun, but it's been worth it... and I'd do it again in a minute. Recently I heard someone say that they were divorced because their marriage didn't turn out the way they had imagined. I remember thinking, "Really? and how many of them do?" But I personally think that sometimes if you ride out the bumps along the way, the new adventure turns out even better than you imagined. But that's a personal opinion and I didn't express it verbally.
Anyway, as we enter our retirement years, it's hard to believe that time has flown by so fast. And it frightens me to think that we might not always have each other. Maybe I think of this because my mom outlived my dad by 26 years. And I lost a good friend recently that outlived her husband by 20... and until she died, she would still tear up whenever she spoke of him. But this is life. We have to be strong, yes? And besides, my plan is to go first... selfish as it may be.