OK, seriously, I do have the oak blanket chest my Dad made in 1960 with the help of his Dad in preparation for his wedding to my Mum which was on 3rd September 1960 (fondly remembered in our house as 'the day war broke out'). I also have the key for it somewhere! Must conduct a thorough search.
My Mum has always told me the tale of meeting my Dad. She was a shy girl, often ill with serious illnesses as a child during the second world war. Her family were Christians, they attended their local Baptist church in Nottingham, England.
Not really liking her own Mother's attention to 'introducing' her to possible suitors. Mum reached her mid twenties and began to think, "I really do want to get married and have children, but I'm shy. I don't like the men Mother introduces me to", I think she was actually embarrassed by the way her Mum tried to 'fix her up'. So she asked God for His help. Mum was a typist and soon after this, she changed jobs and began to work for the Electricity board. A young man worked there as an accountant, he was very nice apparently, and quite attentive, bought her pink carnations (her favourite flowers)...
My Dad says he didn't like the girls in the office much. He didn't like their character. They seemed to be out hunting men all the time, and they wore flashy clothes and 'troweled' the make up on their faces! Then one day he saw another girl, nothing like the others. She was fresh faced and nice (and no make up, well, perhaps a little lipstick). One day driving home from work, he saw her get off the bus at Tollerton, the village outside Nottingham where he lived with his family. He made sure that he offered her a lift home every day for the rest of the week! Dad 'knew'!
Mum say's that she was staying with her brother who lived very close to Dad's family while her parents were away on holiday. In those days nice young ladies were not left alone at home. Her brother was home one day and spotted Dad's big car stopping outside and his little sister getting out. Questions followed, He wasn't angry, just concerned for Mum's safety. The flowers followed, "He's serious" Uncle Dennis remarked when he saw them.
The following week Dad offered Mum a lift home again, "No, thank you", she said, "I'm not staying with my brother now, I'm back home with Mum and Dad." I can imagine Dad's reply, "The car will cope." Dad went out very early every morning and every evening to take and fetch his Father from the station to reduce his father's travelling time,so he really wasn't bothered at all, besides there was more at stake here than petrol!
The rest is history, well apart from the bit where my Dad teases my Mum, telling the tale that she hinted that she wanted to get married by lingering outside every jeweller's shop window they passed. She tells it a little differently (needless to state), He asked her to marry him a little too soon for her comfort, she thought he was the one, but she wasn't ready to commit herself. So she told him she didn't feel ready yet. She would let him know when she was ready. Only she was shy, so she hinted.
Oh, and I didn't mention, my dad was a Christian too, he switched from Church of England to Baptist when they married, for no reason other than it was the church they liked in the area they moved to together after their marriage. You see my Dad also had a handsome promotion at work at the time of their wedding but had to relocate to another region. So Mum and Dad did the tour of the local churches and both fixed on the Baptist church as the one for them. So God also provided them with a larger income so Mum, whose health had never been great, would not have to work outside the home once they had children. Which they did, 18 months later when my elder brother was born.
The other day, I was thinking about my parents, how close they still are, how they care for each other, how they forsake their own wants for the other ones needs and how they still look with hope to the future despite knowing that one day one of them will be left alone for a while. I was thinking this way when the thought struck me, their 50th wedding anniversary is approaching! This needs celebrating.
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