40 Years and Counting

We celebrated Nedra's parents' 40th anniversary this past weekend. The actual date was February 15, but with Mom right smack in the middle of tax season, we postponed the celebration until now. Nedra and Martha planned the day to be a surprise, but Mom just couldn't handle the thought that we might be planning some kind of party (even though we assured her that was not part of the plan), so to set her mind at ease, we told her the plan the night before.

We decided to keep the daytime activities kid-friendly so we visited the Sertoma Butterfly House in Sioux Falls and had lunch at Chuck E. Cheese's. Family photos followed - quite an adventure...we'll leave it at that. Then we left the kiddos with a babysitter while the adults went for ballroom dance lessons. This is something we remember Mom and Dad doing regularly when we were children so we decided to join them this time. The dance lessons were definitely the highlight for everyone! Mom and Dad are still as smooth as ever. They even had a couple of moves to show the instructor! We box waltzed, fox trotted, and swung our way around the dance floor - Mom and Dad looking like pros (sore knees and all) while the rest of us tried to keep up. Lots of laughter and tons of fun.

We closed the evening with dinner at Michaels, a fine-dining restaurant that used to be located in Worthington, but has moved to Sioux Falls. It was complete with Larry filling our water glasses every 5 minutes :o) (Those of you who have ever been to Michaels know EXACTLY what I mean.) Sad that the Pink Squirrel is no longer on the menu though... They were especially busy (it was prom night) so we had to wait quite awhile for our food, but it was perfect. In proper pastor's wife fashion, Martha kept the conversation going with questions for Mom and Dad like, "What were the best and worst years of your marriage?" and "What is the key to a successful marriage?" and "Is there anything you regret or would do differently?" It turns out intentional communication is key and they have no regrets - mistakes along the way just make for greater intimacy and dependence on the Lord.

All in all, it was a wonderful day of celebration. Congratulations Mom and Dad! Here's to many more years together. Looking forward to the day when we make it to 40 years - may our marriage be as communication-rich and regret-free as yours!