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 – 1st 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)