It's Real!

At the end of this month my husband and I will have been married for forty years.   It seems impossible.  With all the ups and downs of marriage I am grateful that we have reached a time in life when we are closer than ever before.  It's truly a wonderful feeling.

I clearly remember the excitement of our big day that started this journey.  It was a very hot day, about 80 degrees F  at 8:00 a.m.    I woke up early, my Dad fixed breakfast--really greasy bacon that I couldn't eat.    My Mom and I sat on the enclosed porch together for awhile, swinging on the porch swing and talking.  While I fixed my hair and helped my sister Alice and my friend Liz get dressed, my brother Bob kept taking pictures.  I felt like a fairy princess.

In those days we didn't look to spend $10,000 on a dress.  My dress was a sample at $125.00 and I loved it.  We got all our flowers for $100  --  colored daisies.  the girls wore pastel floor length frilly dresses and carried baskets of daisies.  Two of our friends Kathy Gorney and her sister sang and played their guitars, which at the time was considered quite modern and unusual.

Bruce stood at the altar looking pale and handsome.  I wanted to run right up to him and hold his hand.  I was and still am in love.  We recited our vows, customized to our own wording during a High Mass of celebration.  When I took his hand after my father handed me to him, he was so cold, but his eyes shone with love.

After the wedding we partied hard with family, friends and my parents friends.  Polish wedding:  of course we had polka dancing, but the band was pretty good at playing current hits (1971) and Bruce and I circulated among the guests.  It was an amazing party, which I hated to leave.  Bruce was quite excited because we kept the tradition of my Church and did not live together before marriage.

That evening we checked into the Palmer House Hotel in Chicago.  I hadn't changed from my wedding dress and the elevator was full of drunken Elks having a convention.  Bruce tensed, but he needn't have. They wished us the best as they went to party on.

For us the night was romantic and wonderful.  Now 40 years later we are still are in love.