How many things do you have that have lasted 32 years*?

Today is our wedding anniversary. Norman and I were married (drum roll or a chair to catch you when you faint...) 32 years ago today. Aren't we cute!

No disaster stories to tell. Instead our wedding was a great party for those who attended. Me, I was too nervous about how things were going and obsessing over whether we were doing things "right" to really enjoy myself.

Times have changed, colors have DEFINITELY changed and for better or worse, some of the people have changed. From left to right in the photo are: Ted Lundquist, Norm's best man. Ted was a friend from college who Norm asked as he really didn't have a best friend from childhood or any siblings. Ted was a pip! Funny, great with the ladies (especially the grandmothers!) and an all around good guy. We lost contact with Ted and haven't heard or talked with him in over 28 years.

Next to Ted is my maid of honor, Barbara Scandurra O'Dea. To this day, Barbara is my best friend. The sad part is we only get to see each other once every few years. This has me bummed immensely. Luckily she reads my blog and is much better at calling me than I am her. Her daughter, Laura graduates high school - probably this week. I owe her a call and a whole lot more for all she has done and meant to me over the years. She out distances Norman by 10 years as we have known each other since we were 13 years old!

The bride - me. Story goes I met Norman on the 2nd day of freshman orientation for college. He was with the roommate of the only other person I knew in the state of New Hampshire (where I was going to school). He says he saw me playing volleyball on the lawn in front of the Commons and I looked really cute in my hot pants and great legs! We started dating about a month later and have been together ever since. That's where the (*) comes in above. I want life experience credit for the five other years between meeting and marriage!

Next is Norman. Isn't he the cutest thing!! Girls, I lucked out in the cute department. He was prettier than I was at the wedding! Truth be told now, he has the cuter legs. I inherited my grandmother's thick ankles which kicked in about 15 years ago - bummers :-( Story goes he was dating Mary Betha Fales (my friend's roommate) but spending all his time with me! Took him a month to get it right.

Next is Suzanne Hensler. I had known Suzanne since the first grade when as a new student, brought into my class in the middle of the semester our teacher asked me to show her to the girl's room. Suzanne was my daring, dangerous, not mom approved friend. But she was cool and fun and non-judgemental and didn't make fun or tease me like my other childhood friends would do. So Suzanne and I formed a friendship that lasted a number of years. We had one really big falling out as kids. I don't remember what it was about but the bottom line is we didn't speak to each other for a year! We made up only to have her move away to upstate New York within the next year. We kept in touch, I spent a week up at her house almost every summer and then we drifted apart again. We continued to stay in touch but her life took a different direction from mine. She married her first husband about a year or so before my wedding. It wasn't a good relationship and although she was my bridesmaid, she spent very little time at the reception and in the prep stages before. She had a lot more problems with her family, her husband and her health. The break came in 1999 when she told me I had to believe her way or it was the highway for our friendship. She was into a lot of fundamentalist, zealot, doomsday stuff and believed(truly) that the world would end at the stroke of midnight starting the year 2000. I told her that while I could respect her decision to live her life a different way and believe differently, I could not accept that it was her way or nothing for all mankind (let alone little old me)and that I could not live my life according to her rules. So we ended our friendship and I haven't heard from her since.

Last, but certainly not least is the Boy Wonder, my brother Brion. The only major glitch in the wedding date was that the next day my brother would graduate from high school. My mother saw this as not a great omen. Brion was allowed to bring a guest to the wedding so what hot date did he pick...Richie Papperno (sorry about the spelling). Well, he and Richie had a great (and I mean a really good time!) Brion was dancing away with his cousins, he was the life of the party. Come to find out later that while we were winging our way to Florida the next day, Brion was hung-over with a barf bag under his robes, graduating from high school!

So that's what I was doing 32 years ago today and yes, we decided to renew the contract for another year...

Update: Norman just got home and for our anniversary and this is what he said, "Because I care enough to give the very best. I did extensive research and discovered that chocolate cake from the Medaille college cafeteria is what is given on your 32nd anniversary." With that I got a piece of chocolate cake from my honey.