33 in 2015: a love story
Marriage is like a long-playing record–a bit of static, some scratches, a couple of skips now and then, but overall the music compensates for the irregularities that occur. image: bunko/morguefile
33 years ago, my hubs, whom I affectionately designate as MEPA (most excellent personal assistant) and I, stood on a slip of beach in the calm of a January storm and exchanged vows. I was 25 and he 36.
Neither one of us thought marriage when we first met. Both of us, tired of the dating game and relationships gone wrong, thought it satisfying to have a working relationship. You see, I hired him to help me remodel the little shop I had decided to set up my balloon bouquet delivery service. The landlord had cut me a deal: remodel the store–I provide labor and he provide material. I gained six months free rent from that little agreement. I signed the line and upon recommendation, hired the cute guy sporting the fu manchu and curly hair who worked at the local hardware store. Auburn gingers are a weak spot.
The first night of work involved sheet-rocking the ceiling. It took the two of us, my entire repartee of elephant jokes, and about five hours to finish the job. I paid him the agreed sum of $65 and threw in a deli sandwich.
We met in October. I proposed two weeks after meeting him and we eloped 56 days later. I thought getting married January first would be a significant way to start our new life together. Too broke to afford a reception or honeymoon, we found a pizza place open and had the place to ourselves.
Last night we celebrated our anniversary with dinner at a new restaurant and the owners sent over a delicious complimentary slice of key lime pie. The evening was topped by watching Anything Goes with Donald O’Conner and Bing Crosby. The Cole Porter score fits the general theme of our marriage: a bit whirlwind and somewhat lyrical.
We are opposite in tastes, strongly singular in outlook, and much more mellow than we used to be.
33 used to be a LP record designated for long playing–yup, just like it should be for marriage.
Happy New Year!!
Pam Webb 
Congratulations and happy New Year! What a lovely story 🙂
Thanks! Everyone should have a great story and a long marriage☺️
oh, that is so true! congratulations!
Congrats! What a charming story! Oh man, I really want a MEPA. Hubby over here is more like MLTNH. That is Most Likely to Need Help with everything.
I love the story of how you met and your early romance. You make putting up sheet rocking sound so lovely! Happy anniversary and happy new year 🙂
He only dropped it on my head once. Our joke is he knocked the common sense out of me and that’s why I fell so hard and fast for curly-haired guy😉
Love that! 🙂
I love a great story! Sounds like you probably have about 33 years worth stored up! Congratulations on a job well done. 🙂
Oh, yeah–we definitely have a few stories stored up. Thanks!
Happy Anniversary!
Happy anniversary and a Happy New Year as well!
Happy anniversary! Thanks for sharing your story. It was delightful.
And that’s only a snippet of the tale😊
Happy anniversary! What a lovely, wonderful, all warm-and-squishy-inside story!
Your stories have inspired me to dredge up a couple of my own–don’t you have a squishy story to share?
I just shared a squishy story on my blog. Is the decorating one not squishy enough for you?
Squishy is a relative term…
Well, that’s as squishy as I get.
Like I said, squishy is a relative term. We all have our own squishy factor to consider. I should relate what I did on the way to the eloping. My husband should have gotten out of the car at that point.
I love this story, you told it so perfectly! Happy Anniversary to you both!
Thanks! We spent our anniversary by helping our youngest move on to the big city. We are truly empty nesters now. I feel another blog forum coming on: Feathered Friends–whereas I extend my varying degrees of elation and sadness of having all our chickadees flown.