Month: July 2018

Next weekend is my 30 year high school reunion.    I missed the 10 year reunion because I was stationed in Korea.  I missed the 20 year reunion because my husband at the time was returning from Afghanistan the same weekend.  I missed the 25 year reunion because I was TDY to Korea.   The Army made sure I was unavailable for all three events.  But my best excuse yet—I’ll miss the 30 year reunion because my daughter’s soccer team is playing in the 3v3 National Championships at Disney World.

30 years ago this summer I would never have imagined I would be where I am today.   5 kids.   2 divorces.  1 Bachelor’s degree.  2 Master’s degrees.  25+ years in the military and still going.  2 house mortgages.  1 car payment.  Big ol’ John Deer lawnmower in my garage.  Living with my dad….no wait, he lives with me.

I could go on and on about all the ups and downs in my personal life, but where did the last 30 years go?   Since we left high school in 1988, we’ve had 6 U.S. Presidents.  We’ve had 5 Jurassic Park movies.  There’s been over 55 different flavors of Oreos.   We witnessed 9/11 and have experienced many changes in our way of life since then.  And can you imagine how different high school (or even college) would have been if we had the internet and Google?

The last 30 years have been a blur.  Birth of my children, college graduations, multiple career changes.   The growth of computers and cell phones.  The loss of typewriters and pay phones.   In 1988, the price of gas was 95 cents per gallon.  Now you are lucky if you can find gas for less than 3 dollars on a good day.   In 1988, the Soviet Union agreed to withdraw their troops from Afghanistan.  Guess who’s there now?   The Soviets were there for 10 years….we beat them on that statistic.  Who would have thought in 1988 that we would have U.S. troops in Afghanistan for almost 17 years?! Things sure have changed the last 30 years, even when we didn’t notice the time flying by.

Yes, I’ll miss the 30 year high school reunion next weekend.   But its 2018!  We have Facebook and Instagram to keep us all up-to-date.   Thank God, we didn’t have social media in 1988!

 

 

My oldest daughter is getting married next year.  And the wedding has weaved its way into all aspects of our lives.   Our calendar revolves around wedding events!

What did you do for vacation?  We went to Charleston.   Did you see the fort?  Did you visit the market?   We tried on dresses.   We visited venues.   We made address labels.   Oh, but wait…

We did walk on the beach and eat a good meal. We did spend 2 days cramming in a lifetime of memories with my oldest daughter. We did enjoy our visit. It just wasn’t all touristy.

This weekend is the big reveal! The actual wedding dress that will eternally be just hers has arrived and this weekend she tries it on for the first time. Sorry, can’t post pictures until after the wedding. But there will be more fittings and adaptions made to make it just right.

But there’s so many more decisions to make in less than a year! Flower girl dresses that make the bride and her two youngest sisters happy. That may be harder than picking the wedding dress. At least the bridesmaids are in agreement, so that’s one less thing to worry about. Then there’s my mother of the bride dress. I’ve at least narrowed the color down to some shade of grey. (Just one please, not 50)

In the end, this will be a big celebration that will actually have been 8 years in the making. It’s a big deal for all of us! Our blended and dysfunctional family with branches and sequels will meld with the more traditional family of the groom. My oldest daughter, my first born child, my original mini-me, my grown-up baby will marry her “John Smith.” She’s always had a thing for blonde hair and blue eyes ever since she saw Pocahontas. My brown hair and brown eye beauty will set the standard, as always, for her many younger sisters to follow! Did I mention she has 3 sisters, 2 step-sisters, and is about to gain a sister-in-law?

This won’t be my last wedding post. It’s just an introduction. So prepare yourself for more wedding talk. And help us all to remember to enjoy this stressful but worthy event!