40 Years

The holidays this year were really great. We spent Christmas Eve with the Smetana's and then American Airlines took us to Ca. on Christmas Day and we spent the week with my family. It was a great trip and it is always good to be back in California.

While we were there my parents celebrated their 40th Wedding Anniversary. The 27th of December, 1966 in South Oak Cliff, Dallas, Texas was when they were married.

We celebrated the day at David and Jean Winter's house (my sisters in-laws) in Valley Center. A huge Winter/Bundy family breakfast. Those attending were: David and Jean, Kenny, Donielle, JoAnn, Jon, Tim, Jenny, Stephen, and Rachel, Don and Betty and Sharla and myself. With that group there were 11 children also.

Breakfast was great, with homemade biscuits, eggs, bacon, gravy and fresh orange juice. The cool part was after breakfast. David, who is an elder at the church got the attention of the table and began to reflect on the history of the two families and how they would have never imagined being connected by children and grandchildren. David and Jean then began sharing qualities and achievements and acts of faith and scripture related to mom and dad. Then David asked the rest of the table to share scripture or Godly qualities that remind them of my parents. It was a perfect, impromptu moment honoring my mom and dad. As the sharing and dialogue went on the questions about their early years of marriage began and my parents along with David and Jean began remembering the years surrounding their marriages. My mom shared how they had gotten married in December, just after Dad had joined the Navy. David was in the Air Force Around the same time. Then my mom shared about the call she received from dad about his deployment to Vietnam. She got the call one day at work and dad was saying goodbye. This was 18 months after their wedding. He was not going to be allowed to leave base and this could be his last opportunity to call. The table was silent as mom re-lived the fear of sending her husband overseas. The young brides at the table listened as the elder shared the pain of saying goodbye and knowing it could be for good. Turns out my dad got to come home and get some personal items before leaving. Mom called his parents in Dallas and they came to see him off. Mom then shared how they watched the young Marines stand in full combat gear, listen to President Johnson's speech and the board the plane. The youth of the table (kids) were just listening as David and Jean and Mom and Dad remembered specific details of those years and how scary it was.

Jean then presented my parents with a nice gift, a framed picture and we all hugged and then went back to chasing kids. The short event could not have been any better. I appreciate David and Jean's love and hospitality and their friendship with my parents. They have been going to church and raising kids together for almost 30 years. I appreciate my parents for staying married for 40 years. Good times and very rough times have come and gone and they have been able to move forward in their relationship. I am thankful for my family: Bundy's, Smetana's, Winter's, Martins and so many others that I cherish. I am thankful to God for being gracious to me to bless my life with such jewels.