Does Anyone Have a Tissue Handy?

I flipped the calendar to September; it seemed innocent enough. Every year my sister makes an awesome calendar for the whole family, including fun photos of the prior year throughout the pages. Each birthday is marked by a pic of the honoree, each anniversary of the celebrating couple, etc. And the top is filled with collages of the year that has recently passed. I glanced through September at my handwritten notes: a dentist appointment, a haircut, my 40^th class reunion….and as I scrolled mentally through the month my eyes rested on the date that our “baby” will be married. And the tears began to flow.

Later that day, my Mom and I went to see Horizons of Gold, a brilliant musical that my husband was performing in. The drama is set during the dustbowl of the 1930s, and it is a heartwarming story of people enduring hardships and finding love and strength in the midst. Last year I saw the same drama, and although I choked up a bit during a scene or two, nothing prepared me for the floodgates that opened up this year. In one scene in particular, the mother is singing a song about her house; wishing that the walls were once again filled with the joy and laughter of her family. At this point I was “ugly crying” and had to even wipe my neck.

It seems that everything is making me emotional this month. My Mom has decided to give up driving, and we had a heartwarming and sentimental discussion about that. Tears flowed. I’m recording some of her old cassette tapes onto CDs so that she can enjoy them; including my father’s sermons and my mother playing the piano and organ. More tears. And this week I received the wedding itinerary from my son and his fiance’. You guessed it….

Weddings have always brought a tear to my eye; there is just something so pure and hopeful about them. One of my husband’s favorite stories to tell about me is the time that he was singing in the wedding of a couple that I had personally never met. I sat in the back; truthfully I was simply there because we were going out to dinner afterward. As everyone stood and the bride began her graceful ascent down the aisle, I felt the familiar sting of tears in my eyes. I couldn’t control them, and I was crying by the time she arrived at the altar. Remember – I didn’t know a SOUL in the wedding party!

Both of our older sons teased me about crying during their wedding ceremonies. My middle son even laughed that the tears started before anyone even walked down the aisle. It’s true. But at least with the first two weddings the tears didn’t actually start until the week of the wedding. But this year is different. They started a whole month ahead. I’m not sure what it is about knowing that my baby boy will soon be entering into matrimony. But the tears have already started.

I close by adding that my tears are of joy and of memories past and present. Beginning on the day that each of our boys were born, we started to pray for them and for their future spouses. We prayed that they would find someone to love them unconditionally and spend the rest of their lives with. It is an incredible blessing to watch them walk down the aisle and enter into that covenant before God and their family and friends. We have gained two of the most wonderful daughters that we could ever have imagined. And soon we’ll add a third! I can’t wait! Just thinking about it makes me wanna…..

Sincerely,

Susan