Many of you have asked: “When are you going to start blogging again?”  So, I hope I can finally say, “Now!” Thank you for your interest and concern for me while I’ve been away from my home base for quite some time.  I will save the details of my time away for later blogging, perhaps, but the short reason is that I’ve been away much of the past few months due to the illness and death of my sister, Beatrice Gray Miller, who lived in East Texas.

When I last blogged I was just getting off to a good start on detailing our wonderful 50^th anniversary trip to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, so that’s where I will pick up today.  (There will more to come when I tell you about the fantastic week with the entire family in the mountains of Franklin, North Carolina, a gift from our sons and their families.)

June 17^th finally arrived!  It is finally the actual date of our wedding when we tied the knot back in 1961 in Longview, Texas.  It is hard to believe that 50 wonderful years have passed, but I suppose the calendar doesn’t tell falsehoods. Nor do the age spots and wrinkles here and there  I will admit, though: celebrating 50 years causes one to ask certain psychological questions.  I’m supposed to feel old, right?  Golden is old, right?  Longevity from this point on?  Really realizing the real meaning of ‘happily ever after’?  Waking up, cooking breakfast, Facebooking, texting!  Life hasn’t changed overnight just because I’ve been married 50 years!  I’m not feeling older!  Earlier that morning a dear friend from home called to see if I wanted to go to an estate sale in her neighborhood.  Sure hated to miss that, for sure, but the distance from PA to SC was a little too difficult to master. Now, we got all that old stuff settled, I think I agree with whoever said: Old is in the eyes of the beholder.

This special day brought more exploring of the lovely area of Lancaster, PA.  We never ceased to be amazed at the lovely farms of the Amish folks. Well-tended, lush, and not a blade of grass anywhere.  Precious children, dressed as their parents were in modest, very basic garments, were all playing and having fun in the well-manicured yards.  
 

We found a Walmart (never far from one!) and selected a matted frame for our photo/puzzle/collage we had worked the night before and hung it right away in our camper!  We then enjoyed a light lunch at Arby’s.  Max and Sara called us and wished us a happy anniversary! That was special to hear from them.

All day we kept recounting our blessings, marveling at the number of years God has given us together.  50 years sounds like such a long time, but it’s only five 10s or ten 5s.  Doesn’t sound so long that way, does it?  We wondered aloud: how many more will we have together?  So many couples only dream of this milestone.  Why are we so blessed?  
 

Completing our day of celebration was a candlelight dinner in a quaint, historic restaurant, “Revere Tavern”.  Dating back to 1740, it was one of the better inns along 62 miles stretching from Philadelphia to Lancaster, PA.  It had been recommended by several of the locals and we were not disappointed. http://www.reveretavern.com/  While there we did commit a grave transgression!  (See photo below)  Maybe the calories won’t be in effect when I next visit my sweet doctor, I remember thinking. Somehow I just felt certain that calories did not compute when ingested on one’s 50^th wedding anniversary.  Agree?

 
Adding to the day’s wonder was reading the myriad of sweet wishes and congratulatory Facebook messages from our treasure trove of friends sprinkled over the United States.  Beauty surrounded us both in our tranquil setting and in our hearts.  A call from Art and Merritt was the perfect ending to a day that we only dreamed about in the past.  We are so blessed.

We face the future with hope and confidence, knowing that our remaining years are in His hands – where they’ve always been – and we are grateful.  We pledged to each other once more to live each day to its fullest.  God blessed us with two sons, two daughters-in-love, two grandsons and two granddaughters, extended family, and an abundance of cherished friends.  What more could we ask for?  The “rain” in our lives has been a result of our own wrong choices, but these never obliterated our joy of family and the legacy of family that helped to keep our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.

Celebrating our Anniversary Dinner

Doesn't this just look too yummy for words? Shared decadence!