8,766 Days...Piece of Cake

I don't know if my math is correct or not, but it's close. Twenty four years times three hundred sixty five days equals 8,760...plus add in the leap years. Another way to say the same thing is 757,382,400 seconds and counting...

Huh?!?

Angie and I are celebrating our anniversary today. You see, we were married on 8/18/1984. I don't recall the actual time of the wedding, but it was in the afternoon, and...it was hotter than blue blazes. Someone forgot to turn the air conditioner on at our church the morning of the wedding. By the time everyone showed up, it was uncomfortably warm in the sanctuary.

Before the wedding, I remember hanging out in one of the church's class rooms...clowning around with my buddies. One of my groomsmen found a box of wooden clothes-pins and started hanging them on unsuspecting people. Instead of doing the usual "fly-check" that most guys do before going out in public, we were all checking to see if we had clothes-pins hanging from our tuxes. I remember walking out in front of everybody and thinking, "This is so cool! People actually came to see me and Angie get married."

I remember sweat pouring down my back as I waited for my bride to enter. I wasn't nervous...it was just friggin' hot in there. I remember Angie's veil was up as she walked down the aisle. Her dad had lifted it to give her a kiss before they entered, but they forgot to put it back down. I remember thinking, "Bend your knees...don't faint...bend your knees...don't faint."

I remember Angie getting mixed up during the vows and saying the wrong thing. The pastor had asked her to repeat, "I, Angie, take thee, Mark." But for some reason, when Angie said it, it came out, "I, Angiemark." We laughed. I remember the wedding ring was stuck on the ring bearer's pillow and one of my groomsmen asked if we needed to borrow his pocketknife. Y'see, during the rehearsal, the ring kept falling off. So I tied it on to the pillow with a double knot and forgot about it. When it was "go time" at the wedding, the ring was secure! I wrestled with that thing for a few uncomfortable minutes before I got it loose. Again, we laughed.

I remember thinking, "That song is taking FOREVER." During rehearsal, we decided we'd light a candle while one of our friends sang "You Light Up My Life." During the rehearsal, we didn't actually perform the song. We just said, "At this point, sing the song and we'll light the unity candle." It didn't take 10 seconds to light the candle...that goofy song took over three minutes to finish. Angie and I just stood there while everyone stared at us. Uncomfortable, but another laugh.

I remember Angie running out to our car after the ceremony...by herself. She and I were poised to run and my dad asked me a question right at the wrong time. Angie took off running, and I stayed inside to answer my father's question. She took a "mother lode" of rice...on her own!

I remember going to the car wash to clean the Camaro before we left town. Our car had been decorated with all kinds of typical stuff. But most of it was shaving cream, which can ruin a car's finish. I stopped at the self car wash and started the power sprayer. All of a sudden, Angie, who was still inside the car, started beating on the window. Unbeknownst to me, water was shooting in from under the T-tops and soaking Angie. She beat so hard on the window that she broke a ceramic ring she had just received as a wedding present. Inside the ring, someone had painstakingly painted this quote, "Angie and Mark forever." We were sickened by the sight of the ceramic pieces in Angie's hand. Then she stated, "I hope this isn't an omen." We hadn't been married an hour yet, and "Angie and Mark forever" was gone.

I remember going out to eat at the most wonderful place in Jackson that night. However, when the maître d' asked me how many was in our party, I stuttered when I said, "Mmm-my wife and I...just two." I wasn't accustomed to saying "wife" yet. I remember waking up in a panic at our hotel in Jackson in the middle of the night. We thought a fire alarm was going off. Turns out that the couple in the next room was using the jacuzzi at 3:00 in the morning and the sound bleeding through our wall sounded like an alarm.

I remember spending a couple of peaceful, restful days at the beach. I remember the sights and sounds of the World's Fair. In 1984, the World's Fair was in New Orleans and we spent a couple of days there. I remember having the best frozen pina colada at the fair. The bartender made it with typical ingredients...but he added a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. Mmmm...tasty!

You know, it's fun to sit back and remember what happened during that day and days immediately following. But those were only a few days. When you stack them up against another 8,760 days, the count seems rather insignificant. They were our first steps in an on-going journey, though.

I consider myself blessed, not lucky, that my marriage is still in tact. Not every marriage works out and not every couple is meant to stay together for 8,766 days. But praise be to God, Angie and I are still making it happen. Yeppers, it's a piece of cake, guys!

Angie and her parents


Me and my parents


Walking down the aisle


The Wedding Party


Surrounded by flowers


Cutting the Cake


The Garter


The Couple