Yes it was in the middle of the night. We weren't sure of the exact time. He said 1:30 AM and I said it was closer to 1:45. We compromised with 1:38AM so that's what time it was. That's when we got married.
While an elopement was not really planned, I was never a big wedding kinda girl. Since almost hubby didn't want to wait a long time, on the morning of August 4th (which is now our middle son's birthday and we had a fun family celebration yesterday), I told him about a wedding chapel I remembered in Eureka Springs, AR. I had noticed it on our way to Branson, MO the week before. By noon it was planned that we would arrive around midnight to 12:30AM.
Over the years I've learned that seldom do we ever arrive anywhere at the planned time if any of the Parks males are involved. They are on time for work. But they all seem to think church, weddings, funerals, family meals, movies and trips will start when they arrive and not a minute sooner. So that's why we arrived closer to 1:30 at Miracle Mansion Wedding Chapel that night. And that's why our anniversary is August 5th and not August 4th. But it's ok. It's a fun story. And our daughter and I are learning that spending time in the car waiting for a Parks male or two is just a fact of life for us.
Ok so yesterday we celebrated our son's birthday. An afternoon lunch with the whole family. His favorite strawberry pie at home for dessert. As we settled down for the evening, we decided to partake of our Chili Cheese Fritos a few hours early. Chili Cheese Fritos had just become popular that summer we married and that's what we ate on our two and a half hour drive in the middle of the night 25 years ago. As I opened the bag last night, hubby said it wasn't midnight yet but I said I thought it would be alright. It was close enough. Besides, we are a little older now and I wasn't so sure those Fritos would sit well on our stomachs after midnight.
After enjoying our snack, we relaxed in the living room in front of the TV. He in his recliner and me on the couch, we enjoyed a rousing game of Words With Friends. Rousing. Right. He actually fell asleep and played a three point word, waking to the sound of my phone receiving the play! In his mind it is an absolute travesty to play a word for only 3 points. So he decided to have more snacks to stay awake. But I fell asleep on the couch.
We really should have thought that 1:38AM wedding thru. I'm a stickler for celebrating at the very moment things happened. For example, our son who's birthday we celebrated yesterday was born at 5:39PM so he wasn't officially 22 until 5:39PM. We tried so hard to stay awake until 1:38AM this morning. By midnight we were in bed with the puppy sleeping between hubby's feet and mine. We were still barely awake at midnight and the birthday boy told us "Happy Anniversary" just before we fell asleep.
Not to give up the opportunity for this once in a lifetime event, we set an alarm so we would be awake at 1:38AM. It went off. We woke up, said Happy Anniversary, kiss kiss, and back to sleep. Well, back to sleep after I woke the dog. She was sound asleep, stretched out flat and didn't appear to be breathing. I feared we had somehow squished her with our feet. Of course hubby immediately asked just how on earth would we have killed her in such a manner. (Yes, he is much more practical than I in most situations.) Guess I didn't think that idea thru very well either. She's 11 lbs of crazy fluff and probably would have loudly voiced her opinion had either of us come close to kicking her in our sleep.
25 years from now, we will probably have our Chili Cheese Frito snack a little earlier even than we did this year. When we go to bed at 8PM after watching a 90 year old Pat Sajak spin the wheel and an 80 year old Vanna White turn those letters, we will set the alarm for 1:38AM, wake up, say "Happy Anniversary", take turns in going to the bathroom, and go back to sleep. Advise to young people getting married? It really doesn't matter what time of the day....or night....you get married. Put God first no matter what. Love and respect each other above all others. And always forgive.
While an elopement was not really planned, I was never a big wedding kinda girl. Since almost hubby didn't want to wait a long time, on the morning of August 4th (which is now our middle son's birthday and we had a fun family celebration yesterday), I told him about a wedding chapel I remembered in Eureka Springs, AR. I had noticed it on our way to Branson, MO the week before. By noon it was planned that we would arrive around midnight to 12:30AM.
Over the years I've learned that seldom do we ever arrive anywhere at the planned time if any of the Parks males are involved. They are on time for work. But they all seem to think church, weddings, funerals, family meals, movies and trips will start when they arrive and not a minute sooner. So that's why we arrived closer to 1:30 at Miracle Mansion Wedding Chapel that night. And that's why our anniversary is August 5th and not August 4th. But it's ok. It's a fun story. And our daughter and I are learning that spending time in the car waiting for a Parks male or two is just a fact of life for us.
Ok so yesterday we celebrated our son's birthday. An afternoon lunch with the whole family. His favorite strawberry pie at home for dessert. As we settled down for the evening, we decided to partake of our Chili Cheese Fritos a few hours early. Chili Cheese Fritos had just become popular that summer we married and that's what we ate on our two and a half hour drive in the middle of the night 25 years ago. As I opened the bag last night, hubby said it wasn't midnight yet but I said I thought it would be alright. It was close enough. Besides, we are a little older now and I wasn't so sure those Fritos would sit well on our stomachs after midnight.
After enjoying our snack, we relaxed in the living room in front of the TV. He in his recliner and me on the couch, we enjoyed a rousing game of Words With Friends. Rousing. Right. He actually fell asleep and played a three point word, waking to the sound of my phone receiving the play! In his mind it is an absolute travesty to play a word for only 3 points. So he decided to have more snacks to stay awake. But I fell asleep on the couch.
We really should have thought that 1:38AM wedding thru. I'm a stickler for celebrating at the very moment things happened. For example, our son who's birthday we celebrated yesterday was born at 5:39PM so he wasn't officially 22 until 5:39PM. We tried so hard to stay awake until 1:38AM this morning. By midnight we were in bed with the puppy sleeping between hubby's feet and mine. We were still barely awake at midnight and the birthday boy told us "Happy Anniversary" just before we fell asleep.
Not to give up the opportunity for this once in a lifetime event, we set an alarm so we would be awake at 1:38AM. It went off. We woke up, said Happy Anniversary, kiss kiss, and back to sleep. Well, back to sleep after I woke the dog. She was sound asleep, stretched out flat and didn't appear to be breathing. I feared we had somehow squished her with our feet. Of course hubby immediately asked just how on earth would we have killed her in such a manner. (Yes, he is much more practical than I in most situations.) Guess I didn't think that idea thru very well either. She's 11 lbs of crazy fluff and probably would have loudly voiced her opinion had either of us come close to kicking her in our sleep.
25 years from now, we will probably have our Chili Cheese Frito snack a little earlier even than we did this year. When we go to bed at 8PM after watching a 90 year old Pat Sajak spin the wheel and an 80 year old Vanna White turn those letters, we will set the alarm for 1:38AM, wake up, say "Happy Anniversary", take turns in going to the bathroom, and go back to sleep. Advise to young people getting married? It really doesn't matter what time of the day....or night....you get married. Put God first no matter what. Love and respect each other above all others. And always forgive.
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