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31 Mar 2006 02:00 PM

Renewing Vows

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

Have you ever considered renewing your vows? There's something wonderfully romantic about watching a couple married for 40 years renewing the vows they made four decades ago. I came across one such renewal recently.

The bride and groom were dressed in simple, but elegant morning suits. The bride wore a lovely cream dress with an embroidered jacket. The groom wore a dark gray suit with an old fashioned ascot. He even sported a top hat. The bride carried a lovely spray of carnations and baby's breath.

An old gazebo in an even older park played host to their morning ceremony. In attendance were their three adult children and their spouses and five grandchildren. The groom's best man was his brother, once again carrying the ring as he did 40 years ago. A former bridesmaid filled in as matron of honor.

Conducting the ceremony was a charming young man who was likely born in the decade after this couple exchanged their first set of vows. His smile spoke volumes for the amount of pleasure he took in participating in a moment of such profound intimacy and celebration.

The vows the couple exchanged will be with me for a long time to come. Forgive me if my memory pales in light to the reality.

The groom spoke first and the following is my best recollection of his moving pledge.

"Forty-four years ago, a beautiful angel walked into my life. She chattered like a magpie. She danced with grace. She sang with heartfelt joy. She tweaked my pride. She challenged my mind. She filled my heart. When I proposed to her three weeks after we met, she laughed in my face. Six months later, she responded to my proposal with a stern lecture. She insisted we go to college. She insisted we follow the paths we planned before we met. I argued. I cajoled. I teased. I joked. She humored me, but she maintained her resolve. For the next three years, we exchanged three letters a week and I drove 200 miles every three weeks to spend fourteen precious hours with her. It was hell. But I endured. Forty years ago today, when I went down on my knees, a hopeless fool and she lifted me up with a single word and I've been floating ever since. Thank you for saying yes."

The Bride was crying and I have to admit, I felt tears in my own eyes as she gazed up at him with absolute adoration.

"The day I met you, I went home and I wrote in my diary: today, I met the man I want to spend the rest of my life with. But as much as my heart soared, my head worried about following a romantic fantasy. What could this dashing man see in me? I was no beauty. I was no prize. I played the piano and I was shy. I could hardly hear the sound of my own voice over the pounding of my heart. Except when I was with him. When I was with him, all I could hear was the beautiful sound of his voice. I loved to talk to him. I fell in love, in a moment, in an instant. Nothing would ever be the same again. But I thought that kind of love could only happen in a novel and surely I must be in love with love itself. He never gave up on me. When we were apart, he was always with me. Words meant little because I could feel his thoughts, I could feel his caring, I could feel his love. If I lifted you up it is because you gave me my strength. For forty-five years I have loved you. For forty years I have been proud to be your wife. Thank you for never giving up asking."

Sometimes life is the best romance novel of all.

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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