Happy anniversary

Four years ago today, the Ump and I said "I do" to each other under a nearly full moon in the backyard of a friend of mine.
In some respects it feels like our wedding was yesterday. On the other hand, I feel like I have been married 40 years, not 4.
That's not a bad thing. My life changed forever on this night in 2001. It was a banner year for the Earehart family. Gracilyn, my niece, was born in August - the first (and more than likely only) grandchild and I turned 40 and got married within a month.
I wish we had videotaped the wedding. At the time it seemed like an unnecessary expense. But during the wedding I developed intense tunnel vision. I enjoyed myself, but I really never got the opportunity to stand back and look at the crowd and the beautiful night and the lovely house and really absorb the whole event.
I was too busy freaking out over the fact that someone was taking too long in the bathroom and I was never going to get my makeup on - a ritual that my Mom and Aunt Ruthie performed like some kind of rite of passage.
I did end up being about 15 minutes late. There are pictures of the Ump wiping the sweat off his head as he waited in his tuxedo.
As I write this blog, it is almost 9:30 p.m. Four years ago, I think we finally had gotten around to cutting the cake. People were starting to leave, so they rushed us over to do the slicing.
It was a lovely wedding that is well-documented in photographs. I am so glad because it was not a month later that my Uncle John died. Those are some of the last pictures of him.
Last year, a fellow teacher/long-time friend of Kenny's who was at the wedding died after a battle with cancer and earlier this summer a dear friend of both of us, Milt, died as well.
When I look at the pictures from that night and everyone is smiling and laughing and eating good food and enjoying good company, it makes me want to have a wedding every year, just to get all those great people together.
It was all assembled from June to September, so in three months we (I - the Ump showed up to help clear a field for parking and to try on his tux) pulled together a outdoor wedding with 250 guests.
I don't think we could do it again. Everything fell perfectly into place - from the minister to the flowers.
It's fun to think back about that night. My memories may not be Memorex perfect, but they have the rosy glow of favorite thoughts and I will keep them in my heart forever.