February 14, 2014

Valentine's Day Surprise Wedding

February 14, 2014

This evening I was asked about yesterday's blog.  There wasn't one.  I had a relapse on the cold I have had and added an upset stomach to it, so I was not up to doing a posting last night.  Glad it was missed.

Yesterday at the office I worked on some filing and updated some files.  It was time to prepare Valentines for the grandchildren.  What a blessing they all are to us.  Then I spent some time on planning for a prayer meeting tomorrow night for a young man from our church who is battling a brain tumor.  There were several contacts with out of town friends and family.  I got a late Birthday cake.  It is delicious.  Ron went out on a couple of short jobs or errands and was in the rest of the day.  I left a little early.

Today, Ron didn't have any commitments out of the office so he said I could stay home and try to get over my cold.  I spent the morning cutting out a new quilt and the afternoon napping.  I did a little sewing and just relaxed and by the evening I was feeling much better.  That is good because we had plans for the evening.

A couple of weeks ago we received an invitation to a Black and White Celebration of Love and Friendship for Valentine's evening.  All adults were to wear black and white.  Children under 18 were to wear red.  We arrived at the home of our friend to find the living room and dining area set very formally in (of course) black and white.

Everyone mingled and chatted while we waited for the party to begin.  Soon a recently engaged man walked toward the center of the room and from down the hall came the lady he was engaged to - carrying a bouquet.  They met in the middle of the room and walked to the far end of the room from where we were seated, and there was a minister waiting for them.  They exchanged their wedding vows and rings to the delight of the crowd of friends and family. 

Following the wedding ceremony, a delicious dinner was served.  We had a good time, sharing good food with good friends and some new ones.  We are so happy for this couple.  We have known the bride for several years and the groom for a year or so, but have known his adult children for many years.  They are head over heels in love and bring laughter and joy to any group they are a part of.  Best wishes to them.

Our grand daughter and the very dramatic grand daughter of the groom.  The two girls are good friends and always have fun together.

It was an added treat to spend the evening with our son and his family.  The children all looked so good in their red outfits.  They are such a loving bunch - not just on Valentine's Day.

It was very difficult to hear in the setting.  There were probably about 75 people there, pretty close to one another.  There was a lot of talking and rattling of silverware, glasses, etc.  At the start of the wedding ceremony, I could hear pretty well, but by the time they were exchanging the vows it got harder to hear.  Probably the minister in the beginning was speaking to all of us, but as the ceremony progressed, most of his comments were directed to the couple. 

Even visiting with people at our table, it was hard to hear.  There was a couple next to me I had not met  before.  The man was fairly easy to hear, but I only heard a couple of words his wife said all evening.  One of the men at the event who wears hearing aids came to me toward the end of the evening and asked if I had trouble hearing.  The answer was, Yes!  He said he had a lot of trouble himself. 

One thing I think I have mentioned before is that with hearing aids or the sound processor for the Cochlear Implant, they need to be worn all the time when you are awake to be able to be used to them and to constantly adjust to them.  I understand how tempting it is not to wear them when you are home alone.  Many hearing aid wearers are older and maybe live alone and don't see a reason to wear them.  This morning while I was at home alone, I left mine off.  Hearing aids and sound processors and not comfortable.  But the more you wear them, they more they help.