Newlywed Love (#3)

Posted on May 25, 2017 by Margaret

December 3, 1969

All too soon our honeymoon was over, and it was time to leave The Drake. We packed up, then stood together and looked around our room, promising never to forget all the happiness we’d known during our brief stay. The bell boy came to help us out, and I left the hotel just as I’d entered, carrying the giant bundle of my rolled up wedding gown and veil with the crown on top.

Nate went to retrieve his VW from the underground garage where it had been hiding for a week, and we loaded up. On a lark we decided to drive north to Wilmette before heading south to our apartment. Mom and Dad would be at Wednesday night prayer meeting, and we wanted to leave a surprise.

As we came in the kitchen door, I saw Mom’s diary open on the table with a note revealing how truly draining our wedding prep had been for her. On Sunday, the day after, she’d written, “Wondered if I could get thru Sunday – was bushed! Brot flowers home – some to ill folk.”

Even in her depleted condition, she’d taken time to divide the wedding flowers and drive them to various nursing homes, passing out bouquets to shut-ins.

Mom rallied quickly after that. On Monday she’d written, “All the pressures are gone! And now Christmas music descends!”

I had no trouble picturing her making multiple trips to the airport to deposit out-of-town relatives but then heading home to her 33 rpm Christmas records cranked on high volume – Lawrence Welk and Mitch Miller.

Glad to see all was well on the home front, Nate and I took a minute to spread my wedding gown and veil (with crown) on their freshly-carpeted living room floor. Tucking our thank you letters into my white shoes, we placed them neatly at the bottom alongside our gifts for them – then joyfully pointed our car toward Champaign.

When we got there it was late, but we bounded up to our 3^rd floor “nest” like a couple of teenagers, anxious to get going on real married life. Nate carried me across the threshold, and then we readied for sleep. Though we didn’t yet have a bedroom set, it didn’t matter. We could spend the night together on the Murphy with no fear of “getting caught” doing something we shouldn’t.

Sitting on the edge of the pull-down bed, Nate wrapped his arms around me, and we talked about all that had happened in the week since we’d left our apartment. “Why don’t we pray?” he said. After voicing a long list of blessings, he thanked God for each one…. and spent several extra minutes thanking God for me.

And then we turned out the light.

“Let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.” (Hebrews 13:15)

Newlywed Love (#2)

Posted on May 25, 2017 by Margaret

December 2, 1969

Nate’s and my honeymoon was short but very sweet. We packed lots into our 4 days at The Drake and made good use of a Super 8 movie camera Mary and Bervin had given us as a wedding gift.

We walked along the frozen beaches of Lake Michigan just outside the hotel doors, and I took footage of Nate, then he took footage of me – a bit boring for others to watch some day, but ever-meaningful to us. Of course in 1969 we didn’t get to see what we’d recorded until a couple of weeks later after the 50 feet of film had been developed at a camera store.

One day into our honeymoon, we presented each other with our wedding gifts. Because of Nate’s passion for history (his college major), I bought an antique I knew he’d appreciate: a pewter mug made in 1820 that had been used by several members of a British royal family. His gift for me was a string of beautiful pearls. “After all,” he said, “Margaret means ‘pearl.’ ”

Although I’d bought only the one gift for Nate, he had many gifts for me, which he distributed through- out the 4 days. The first was a jar of clear, pink bath beads, along with an invitation to share a bath in the big, deep Drake tub. Toward the end of our honey- moon I wrote in my journal, “I’ve never been so clean in my life!”

As we spent time learning to be physically together, both of us discovered a sweet surprise, one more of God’s special blessings. When we were being intimate, we experienced a closeness of hearts and emotions we hadn’t expected, feelings we hadn’t known while dating, despite lots of kissing and hugging.

This was something on a higher level, precious beyond measure. And afterwards, with our arms still around each other, we agreed that the whispered words spoken in those moments were new, relationship-nourishing moments.

The brevity of our honeymoon made us appreciate each hour, but reading daily newspapers reminded us of the chaotic world going on apart from our blissful life at The Drake. The Vietnam War was escalating, and after reading an article about rapidly increasing ground troops there, Nate sadly mentioned he knew several friends who would have to go now.

As we counted blessings on the last night of our honeymoon, snow began swirling outside the window, and we knew “regular” life was just around the corner – 1^st grade teaching for me and law classes for Nate. So we went out shopping one last time to buy gifts for Mary, Bervin, Mom, Dad, and Aunt Agnes. Stopping for snacks on the way back to the hotel, we laughed to see that even our Coke straws were helping us celebrate to the very end.

“The Lord said, ‘My presence will go with you.’ ” (Exodus 33:14)

Newlywed Love (#1)

Posted on May 23, 2017 by Margaret

Nate and Meg are back on this blog (by popular demand), but if you’ve had enough of them, you know where the delete button is.

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December 1, 1969

As Nate and I embarked on our brief 4-day honeymoon, we were reminded again that God keeps his promises. “The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does.” (Psalm 145:136)

In his Word he had told us to wait for sex until we were married, implying that if we did, he would bless us in special ways. We experienced that divine blessing again and again at The Drake Hotel, so much so that Nate would often say a prayer of gratitude both before and after we were intimate.

Scripture says, “Marriage is honorable by all and the bed undefiled.” (Hebrews 13:4 KJV) This means it’s no sin to have all the married sex you both want, and assures that as you take advantage of such freedom, God is nodding his approval.

A synonym for “undefiled” is “pure,” and our honeymoon was full of pure fun. Peter wrote about loving each other fervently with pure hearts, and purifying our souls by obeying God’s truth. (1 Peter 1:22 KJV) That’s exactly what we were doing.

I told Nate, “When God invented sex, he sure had a good idea there.”

But of course lovemaking wasn’t all we did on our honeymoon. The morning after our wedding we ordered brunch through room service, a lavish treat we justified for that special occasion. I ordered my favorite – lamb chops – eating them with my fingers. Nate got scrod, and everything was served on linen and silver. “Even a free newspaper!” he said.

We did some sightseeing, sat in the front row at the new Broadway show Hair (quite controversial!), ate at The Cape Cod Room and Don the Beachcombers, shopped, saw the comedy show at Second City, and participated in an evening vesper service at a nearby church. We also spent a bit of our wedding money. I shouldn’t say “we,” because most of it was spent on me.

Nate said, “I think we should buy you a new coat.” My “Jackie Kennedy” had seen better days, and it was time to retire it. Modeling coats for my admiring groom was a delight, and I relished his many compliments.

I told him the choice was his, and he picked a black coat with fake fur, leather trim, and silver buttons. I loved it, especially knowing that every time I put it on I would be reminded of our honeymoon – for years to come.

At the Marshall Fields glove counter, we were pondering which pair of black gloves to buy (me again) when the clerk said, “I’m gonna guess you two are newlyweds.”

“How can you tell?” Nate said.

“Your rings are still shiny… and also… all that giggling.” We loved our new label.

No matter what we did, though, we never strayed far from The Drake. Nate would look at me or I’d look at him, and one of us would say, “Let’s go back and take a nap.” – an invitation to have some more “pure” fun.