July 26, 1986

A post from Kelli–

July 26, 1986 was a pretty wonderful day. In case you didn’t know, this was the day that mom and dad got married. While I was there in utero, I wasn’t there in person to share in the wonderful events of the day.

I’ve been told that it was a very, very hot day. Mom and dad always tell the story of how the zipper in dad’s pants broke and my grandma (mom’s mom) had to pin them up. Mom tells of how they got engaged and married so fast that they didn’t have time to order dresses or enough fabric to make them in the same color. They ended up ordering pastel fabric to make the same dress in coordinating colors and enough fabric for my grandma to make my mom’s dress as well. Mom always tells too of how it was so hot they had to put a fan underneath her dress to help her cool off and not pass out.

Fast forward a few 30 years or so and you’ll see they’ve been through a lot together–5 kids who have made them want to pull out their hair (maybe that’s why dad is significantly more bald) at times, the deaths of their parents, some serious illnesses, 7 houses (and moving between them), disagreements about when the challenger blew up (this was before the time of internet when it hadn’t been published in our encyclopedia yet–and yes it was an issue), but first and foremost lots of love.

They’ve been wonderful enough to pass on lots of the lessons that they’ve learned to us kids. Phrases like “use your head and save your feet,” and “Those that mind don’t matter and those that matter don’t mind,” have been said in our house many more times that can likely be counted. Another favorite “I am the parent, and you are the child,” has worked quite well to teach us all to respect those in any authority position. They’ve also worked to show us the importance of hard work and dedication to a task. Helping others and volunteering has also been another lesson that they have showed us through their work. They’ve also worked hard to show us that little things can add up to big things and that not everyone was as fortunate as we have been. Lots of our successes can be attributed to the fact that they’ve both always treated us as adults and held us responsible for our actions no matter our age.

I know you see those thing floating around facebook about being half the person your parents are, but it really is true in my case. Heck, if I could be a quarter the person that either of them are, I’ll consider that a great success. Considering the wonderful foundation that I’ve been provided though, I don’t think it’ll be too hard though!

So–Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! Thanks for everything that you’ve done for me or put up with from me. I know that I haven’t always been the nicest or best person that I can be and I really appreciate you sticking it out and putting up with me, knowing I’d come around eventually. Thanks for showing me the value and meaning of hard work and sticking to your guns. Your faith in me has brought me to wonderful places and I’m sure I have many wonderful journey’s awaiting me. Happy 30 years! Here’s to many, many more!