Newlywed Love (#1)

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.”

BreakfastBut 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.

 

Vespers serviceWe 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.

The new coatI 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.

Do not disturbNo 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.

“A man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife.” (Genesis 2:24)

Young Love (#142)

A note to blog readers:

 

WheatonThis weekend I’ll be attending the 50th reunion of my Wheaton graduating class – 1967! I won’t be able to blog for a few days, but before I go, I want to bring this bride and groom to THE thrilling moment they’ve been anticipating for so many months – in room 334 at The Drake Hotel in Chicago….

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November 30, 1969… 2:00 AM

At long last Nate and I were on our honeymoon, and oh how we had looked forward to this day! Both of us were anticipating the fun of our first sex, but like the cherry on a sundae, we wanted to save the best for last.

PJsIn a silly little ceremony we pulled our night clothes out of our luggage and laid them on the bed, taking a picture. Nate’s PJs were still in their plastic package, and although my gauzy nightie was very pretty, I knew it was scratchy at the seams. We decided to ignore formality and go with comfort.

Nate had thought of everything and produced a bottle of wine, which had been chilling on ice. “I thought this might be a good idea,” he said. And of course it was. He got out of his jeans, and I put on my comfy old bathrobe.

 

ComfyThe Drake had given us two glasses to go with the wine, and as we sipped, we talked over the weekend, beginning with Thanksgiving dinner. Moving through each day, hour by hour, we laughed and compared our impressions. What stood out to each of us? What was funny? Surprising? How did we feel when we were being joined in marriage?

Relaxing there in the living room of our suite, I hung on Nate’s every word and couldn’t take my eyes off of him.

 

A ring...Suddenly he lifted his hand and said, “Hey, look-it! A wedding ring!” All I could do was dive in his direction and cover his face with kisses.

As the wine warmed us, our giggling increased, and anticipation started to build. We actually began talking about our first love-making experience and what the next moments would be like. We had read books and knew that the first time didn’t always turn out well. We shared our expectations of each other and ourselves, but agreed that with us, it was going to be nothing but pure pleasure.

Then, all of a sudden, it was as if we ran out of things to say… and we were there. Nate took my hand, and we moved into the bedroom. As we did, I remembered the night weeks ago at our apartment in Champaign when we’d gotten a bit too passionate and had had trouble stopping. “This time,” I said, “there’ll be no stopping us!”

And with that, we proceeded to lose our virginity – the gift we’d both worked so hard to save for each other on this very important day…

…pure pleasure indeed.

“Go ahead… Drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this! Live happily with the woman you love.” (Ecclesiastes 9:7,9)

Young Love (#141)

November 29-30, 1969

John & CathyJohn had driven our getaway car like a maniac, and we were proud of him for accomplishing exactly what he said he would – successfully separating us from our pursuers. Though Nate and I were anxious to get to The Drake Hotel and officially get our honeymoon started, we didn’t want to say goodbye to these dedicated friends too abruptly.

Sitting behind the gas station with our car lights off (just in case…), we were starting to worry about Nate in the bathroom so long. Then he came running out, dressed in jeans and juggling all the pieces of his tuxedo. “You wouldn’t believe how nice it was in there,” he said. “A full length mirror and everything!”

Choking on a laugh John said, “That, buddy, is because you were in the ladies room.” – which of course was the last thing gentleman-Nate would ever knowingly do.

MacsOn our way back to the expressway we spotted a McDonalds and decided to do something unconventional for a wedding night —   celebrate our victorious escape with a little treat. Sharing warm apple pie and coffee (in the car, of course), we laughed about the wedding party probably still trying to figure out how we got away. And we had to admit – the whole thing had been a happy lark.

When John pulled up to The Drake, it was almost 1:00 AM. We thanked him, then turned our attention to finding room 334. Nate had splurged on a two-room suite for the first night of our 4-day honeymoon, but we would transfer to a less lavish room for the remaining nights.

The Drake front door.As we entered the elegant Drake lobby full of fancy people, Nate had his tux neatly folded over his arm. I had my gown, train, and veil in a big round bundle with the crown perched on top. When the man at the desk spotted us, he smiled broadly. “Wedding day?”

“Yes,” Nate said, giving me a knowing look. “And a great day… so far!”

The bell hop picked up our suitcases and rode the elevator with us. He, too, couldn’t resist commenting. “Wedding night at The Drake, eh?”

As we nodded he said, “You’re lucky. There’s no finer place.”

He closed the door behind himself, and we looked at each other with a brand new look. Finally! We were married. We were alone. And we were free to do whatever we wanted. No one was going to object. No one was going to call, knock, or appear unannounced. And what a delicious feeing that was!

RosesEven though it was late, both of us wanted to slow down and savor the next moments. I spotted a dozen red roses in a pretty vase standing in a mirrored alcove. “Roses!”

“Read the card,” Nate said.

“To Mrs. Nyman… I love you, Meg.  Nate.”

Ahh… I loved the sound of it. Mrs. Nyman.

As I looked at the card, I flashed back to those hundreds of letters Nate had written in which he’d repeatedly penned those words:

I love you, Meg.  I love you, Meg.  I love you, Meg.

I love you, Meg.

Though it had taken me a long while to know I loved him back, he was rock-sure from the very beginning – a thought that warmed me now, through and through.

What if he hadn’t been patient enough? Or hopeful enough? Or resolute enough? What if he hadn’t persevered? I didn’t even want to think about it.

“Pursue… faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.” (1 Timothy 6:11)