Category Archives: Friendship

Young Love (#106)

Posted on by

November 1, 1969

Another shower.Our weekend in Wilmette included a really big surprise: a third bridal shower! This one was given by 20-somethings for 20-somethings, and as I scanned the room, all of my best friends were there. (Right, with Mary) The ruse they’d used to be sure I’d show up was a make-believe appointment with our wedding caterer. There was no appointment, and she wasn’t even there among the guests. But what’s a surprise party without a little trickery?

 

Red glassWe played games, ate sweet treats, and opened more gifts. Connie and Lynn had specified that it be an “all glass” shower, and this spectacular theme became evident after the first few presents. I was in heaven.

The afternoon’s entertainment turned out to be…. me. Well, me along with a good college buddy, Kathy. She and I had sung in a talent show (think pretend-talent) at Wheaton in long gowns and fake operatic voices.

WunderbarBy popular demand at the shower, we happily sang through our short repertoire, which included our most-requested number, “Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life.”

When Mary and I pulled into Mom and Dad’s driveway (the back seat once again loaded with gift boxes), another surprise awaited. Nate ran out to meet us, telling us that my college roommate, Julie, had just called with good news. She was looking for a place to store her grandmother’s bedroom set and wondered if our Champaign apartment might be available.

I called her back for the details and learned it was elegant furniture, hand made in the 1920’s of Australian satinwood with tiny floral inlays, also of satinwood. The set included a double bed, night stand, dresser, high-boy chest of drawers, vanity with matching chair, and two 4-foot mirrors. Each piece had a thick slab of glass on it for protection. We couldn’t envision all this grandeur, so Nate and I made plans to drive to Milwaukee (where Julie lived) the next afternoon to take a look. Our only concern was that we’d be able to properly care for such fine furniture — until Julie needed it back.

Our 2 momsAnd there was one more special surprise. Nate’s mother called (to the right of mom) to say she and her friends wanted to give me a bridal shower in Nate’s home town the following weekend. I was speechless.

“Freely you have received; freely give.” (Matt. 10:8)

Young Love (#104)

Posted on by

October 30 – 31, 1969

 

Now that we were less than a month from our wedding, it was time to ask my principal for some honeymoon time off. We would be marrying on the Saturday after Thanksgiving and hoped he’d give us a week beyond that. A seven day honeymoon would be short, but Nate needed to get back to his classes anyway.

Principal's officeWhen I approached Mr. Scarce in his office, he greeted me with a big smile and a couple of jokes about becoming a married lady. He was in a good mood, and I had the feeling I was going to get what I asked for.

 

Back in Chicago, teachers were given  3 paid “personal days” during the school year and a handful of sick days. In Danville it was different. And in Mr. Scarce’s opinion, a week’s absence wasn’t reasonable. I explained I wasn’t asking for paid vacation, just time off… but the answer was still no. He joked with me about a one-day honeymoon, but it wasn’t that funny.

When I walked out of the office, he’d given me permission to miss 3 days – without pay – mentioning that there were others who would love to have my job if I was unable to do it.

Since I was very grateful for that job, I smiled and thanked him for the 3 days but knew Nate would be disappointed. Not counting our actual wedding day (which would end at about 11:00 PM), we would have a whopping 4-day honeymoon.

When I arrived home and gave Nate the bad news, he responded with a couple of reasons why 4 days would be just fine. For one, we didn’t have much money and a short honeymoon wouldn’t cost much. Also, missing fewer classes would be a good thing. “We’ll just make the most of each of our 4 days,” he said. “Besides – once we’re married, every day will be a honeymoon.” (Spoken like a man in love.)

Knowing how few days we would have, it was easy to structure a plan. Rather than waste time traveling, we would honeymoon right in Chicago, a fascinating city with much to explore. But we’d have to keep our location a secret, or my family just might drop in uninvited.

John and CathyThat evening we asked one of Nate’s law school buddies and his girlfriend to come for supper. John was one of the groomsmen, and since he was located in Champaign, it would be easy for him to keep a secret. So we asked him to be our getaway driver. “It’s very likely we’ll be followed when we leave the church. Would you be up for helping us escape?”

 

Fondue potJohn and Cathy loved the idea and promised they would succeed at their assignment. As we shared a meal using the new fondue pot we’d received at the last shower, we strategized and came up with a complicated scheme — not only to evade mischief-makers when leaving the church but to hide Nate’s car and our honeymoon luggage somewhere in the city several days before the wedding.

After that, the only thing left was to plan our 4 precious honeymoon days in Chicago.

“Be content with what you have.” (Hebrews 13:5)

Young Love (#94)

Posted on by

It’s been a whirlwind 3 weeks since I last posted a “Young Love” blog, and here’s why:

95 Theses.In Germany —

  • Reuniting with my college roommate
  • Meeting new friends
  • Sightseeing, museums, following Martin Luther
  • Visiting other cities, a super-fast “bullet” train
  • Getting lost in Berlin… and found at 3:30 AM
  • Praying, laughing, eating, and “doing the city” by night

 

 

In England —

  • Jonathan.Meeting my 12th grandchild, Jonathan Richard Nyman
  • Renewing relationships with his 5 older siblings
  • Hiking as a family
  • Getting back in action with my co-grandma and the children as “Team Gran”
  • Sightseeing, riding bikes
  • Sharing lively meals
  • Visiting parks and playgrounds
  • Quizzing knowledgeable youngsters about Bible facts

British Nymans

(Hans and Katy with children, L to R: Nicholas, Evelyn, Elizabeth, Andrew, Thomas, and Jonathan in Katy’s front carrier.)

I’m overflowing with gratitude for these loving relationships and the chance to “get current” with each one. Thankfully, the globe is shrinking, and I’m learning the tricks of travel, mostly by making mistakes. It isn’t easy for this grandma to go-it-alone, especially internationally, but God goes with me — the best travel partner of them all.

And now…. back to the story of Meg and Nate as they travel toward their wedding day (and night) in the autumn of 1969:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

September 22–29, 1969

Although Nate and I no longer needed to write letters to each other, our tiny mailbox was still full. Mom sent a steady stream of progress reports on the wedding plans, usually accompanied by a list of questions, and Aunt Joyce mailed ongoing encouragement from California. Nate’s mother wrote, too, with questions about the rehearsal dinner and guest list.

M and M.Mary often sent notes urging me to give Mom honest answers to her questions. “The bride is the boss,” she wrote. “Tell Mom what you want, and don’t let her change your mind.” I appreciated the voice of experience, a cooperative sister-bride who had probably let Mom have her way on almost everything about her wedding — but at least she’d “been around” to take a more active role in the planning. My guilt about being out of town was mounting.

One thing I could help with was ordering invitations, which we hoped to get mailed by November 1st. I gave Mom my choices by mail: ivory colored paper, black ink, fancy script, and traditional wording. I also thought it would be fun to give the lady-guests a chance to wear long dresses if they wanted. When I suggested we add “Black tie optional” at the bottom of the invitation, Mom wrote, “Moody Church people won’t know what that means. The men will put on a black tie and think, ‘There. I did it.’ ” So we added “Formal dress optional” instead, even though we knew not many would take advantage.

The guest list had mushroomed to hundreds, and Mom said the invitations needed to be addressed in my handwriting. But it was debatable if I’d be able to drive home (repeatedly) to complete that task in time. I decided to wait till the invitations actually arrived before hitting the panic button.

“Do not be anxious about your life.” (Matthew 6:25)