"The weeks before the big day"

 April 29, 1950, was the day.  Bill and Louise`s wedding day.  As the day is getting closer to mark what would have been our Mother and Daddy`s 68th wedding anniversary, my mind goes back to the weeks before  and what they must have been like. All the hustle and bustle going on behind the scenes, must have been a busy time for her and her mother. I immediately thought of her best friend back then, Shirley, and what she remembered. Shirley is 89 this year, just lost her husband of 68 years, and lives in  Texas with her daughter and husband.  I reached out to her online, not knowing if she checked messages  and a few minutes, she called me. We hung up the phone an hour later. Memories  flowed as we talked about those early years. She met mother in high school. They were in the cafeteria line and  noticed that they both had on the same pink and brown  plaid skirt.  They smiled at each other and then after school, they met again on the street car and sat together. The life long friendship started that day in the cafeteria and lasted for over 60 years.She remembered the day they went bicycle riding after school, met up somewhere in between their houses and talked for hours as they sat on the sidewalk. When they realized it was getting late and almost dark,  they were trying to figure out how to let their mothers know where they were and that they were ok. Shirley knew where the key to her church`s office was hidden , so they walked across the street to the church and unlocked the office door. They found  the phone to call their mothers. (She forgot how she knew where the key was!!)  When Mother called,  Loisie was very upset and immediately drove to pick her up and put the bicycle in the trunk to take her home. There was no room for Shirley and her bicycle so she just rode on by herself to her home. I never saw my grandmother mad so this was interesting to hear and the fact that she left Shirley out in the dark to ride home by herself and not follow her, didn`t sound like her either.? !!Mother and her family moved to Birmingham 2 years later but the friendship continued to grow long distance. Once in Birmingham, Mother and Daddy met as they were next door neighbors. He was a year older and went to U of A, but she says when he would come home for the weekends and drive in the driveway, he would honk to let her know he was home. She would go to the window and wave. The date nights would end and  as soon as he walked in his front door, he would call her. She would go to the basement steps to sit and they would talk for hours.  When she was asked what made her fall in love with him, she said, "we always felt we had so much in common, trust, honesty as well as love. He was always so thoughtful of my family, especially my grandmother who had so many health issues He was always so caring for her. That made me love him more. "I can only imagine the fun times that her mother had as they were getting ready  these last weeks together. When asked later in life what she remembered about her mother, she said, "She was my best friend as I grew up. There was never anything we couldn`t talk about.  We loved shopping together and eating out. The best advise she and my Daddy gave me was the way they lived their lives, love, thoughtful, honesty, caring, truthful. The love they had for each other was so special."So this week, as I reflect on her weeks that led up to her big day, I pass on her advice about relationships. "My dad always said to remember that when you marry, you not only marry your sweetheart, but his family too. " It may be old school to some but he also told her, "As you are dating, it is so much better to date a christian. When your beliefs are the same, life is so much easier. "Their LOVE was so special.