Thoughts on Mom and Dad’s Golden Anniversary party

You know how you look forward to a big event, worrying about all the details, wondering how it will all pull together ... IF it will all pull together? And then the day finally comes and it ends up being even more spectacular and memorable than you imagined! That’s how my parents’ 50th anniversary party went.

Back in January, Jennifer suggested that Glenn and I be in charge of taking pictures of the day, but I knew even then that it would be very difficult for me to devote the time to taking pictures, so Glenn agreed to be in charge of pictures. Good thing. I ended up with about 25 pictures (Erica took some of the decorations); he took over 500.  :o)  But I will share the best of what I have because I really want to document everything while it’s still fresh in my memory.

The tent

The tent was put up on Wednesday and Mom was so bowled over by it she could hardly describe it over the phone. It took up most of their small backyard! It was tempting to drive down there just to see it, but I didn’t want to take time away from the scanning for the PowerPoint Presentation, plus several of the kids got colds mid-week, so I reluctantly decided to stay home and let the kids rest. We went down on Friday to decorate and it was HUGE!  The tables and chairs had also been delivered and friend Dayla had lent some of her white lights to decorate trees and bushes. Even with no décor (except the bunting Jennifer and Kelly made), it was just enchanting at night.

It ended up being a lovely, sunny day in the low ‘80s -- not too hot or humid. But, it did get warm in the sun, so it sure was nice to have the big tent.

The Balloons

Something I realized through this: you can never have too many balloons. The balloons were used to frame the big screen and also camouflage the tent poles. But lots of balloons also say this: today is a really special day.

When we got there on Saturday morning, a lot of the balloons had already been put up by the “balloon people.” It was incredible. Glenn actually took a funny picture of me standing there staring at it all with my mouth gaping open.  :-D

Mom

On Saturday morning, Heather did Mom’s hair and a friend did her make-up. She’d picked out a dress just a couple of days before the big day and kept it hidden to surprise Dad.

She looked really beautiful. The kids were still talking about her the next day, “Grandma looked sooooo pretty!” Even 5-year-old Grant told her. She really looked lovely.  :-)

Mom is posing with James, the man who constructed the giant record, book and vinyl record columns.

I snapped this right after she came out in her party glory.  She was surveying all her domain.  :-)

Her wedding dress was on display on a dressmaker’s form, which was slightly too big around for the dress. She was only 18 when they were married and had a 24-inch waist.

Dad

Days before the party, Dad ended up trying on the jacket he wore on their wedding day and it fit! So he wore that. Most of the people I talked to didn’t know it was the same jacket, because he wasn’t saying anything about it. A cousin told me she guessed when, after she complimented him, he said “Thanks. It’s an original.”  :-)

 

 

Grandma

Grandma (Mom’s mom) turned 92 in June and has been in slowly declining health the past few years. None of us would’ve dreamed she could be at the party, but a good friend from the rehab facility where Grandma lives made all the arrangements and it was a wonderful surprise for Mom and Dad. It was such a tender moment when they wheeled her into the tent - definitely a highlight of the day for all of us! And then we girls had to sing right after that! Not fair! We couldn’t look at any of them.  ;-)

Pictures and Memories

With the help of Rachel doing the picture arranging and taping and sisters and Mom helping with milestones, we set up 5 boards – one for each decade – along with highlights from each decade. That was fun, and it reminded me of how important it is to document your pictures! Mom has told me for years to write down dates and names on the backs of pictures. I was glad she has been so faithful in doing that!

It was amazing to me how many pictures we have of Mom and Dad, just the two of them, together. Amazing especially when you think of how many kids and grandkids there are. In fact, there were so many good photos of the two of them that I decided to put them all together at the end of the presentation, one after another, in chronological order

This is a collage I just created of the ones I used (there were more I kept finding after the fact!).

The Program

This is a copy of the program we printed outlining the order of singing and memory-sharing we did to celebrate the day. We printed off 12 of them and put them in clear, plastic frames on each table. No, I did not get pictures of the actual presentation, which involved singing and a slideshow of Mom and Dad’s “story”.  :-)  But Glenn did (hint, hint, Glenn!).

More pictures

More décor …

More fun …

(Most of the rest of these were taken once the party was winding down, and I could catch my breath long enough to pick the camera back up. :-)

Watching the movie “Up” after it was all over.

Kelly made badges for each of us girls to wear. We decided to use school pictures of us, because the guests who haven’t seen us since then might recognize us in pictures from that time. I didn’t realize until I saw this picture how much Claire looks like me.  :-)

 

More love …

 

Mom and Dad

They have always demonstrated so many important ideals in a marriage: teamwork, sacrifice, selflessness. Through the years, none of us kids ever doubted their complete devotion to each other. Anyone who knows them (from their church friends to the cashier at the grocery) knows also of their devotion to the rest of us, but all of the stability and love in our family flows from their special relationship.

This is from a note I wrote to a friend earlier today:

There are some marriages that make it to the 50-year mark, and you get the feeling that the couple just sort of dug in and stuck it out, gritting their teeth through most of it. Not so with my parents. Of course, they’re human and have their faults and weaknesses and I know they had rough patches through the years, probably even some times of “digging in” and “gritting their teeth.” But I truly feel like their marriage has been a “labor of love.” I remember having a conversation with Mom about marriage when I was a teenager. She said “We hear people say marriage should be 50/50, but Dad and I have always felt like the other gives 100%.”