With a lot of help from the family, we celebrated my
parents’ 40th wedding anniversary last Sunday
afternoon. I’ve texted those who showed up my gratitude for coming together on
short notice since I was unsure of my own work schedule; as a result, I chose
to limit the celebration to in-state relatives. You know, most people can reach
Conway within three hours from almost any direction including my own forty-five
drive from Bryant. If anyone took pictures, please feel free to share them in
the comments section as I recollect moments from a few days (or decades) ago:
1. God
has definitely kept Dad and Mom together through thick and thin.
2. Without
them, I wouldn’t have turned out the way I am today (I was inside Mama’s tummy
when they had gotten married back in ‘78).
3. Next
July will also mark them living in Friendship forty years in the little house
(once white, now yellow) in the curve. For the first eighteen years, it was the
only place I knew as home – and that 882 sq. ft. space contained more life
lessons, memories, Star Trek marathons, etc. than many of you would ever know.
4. Depending
on the sport, Mom or Dad would serve as de facto referees in backyard
basketball or football; when we were younger, they would get out in the
driveway for foot races. No comment on who walked who down during the era of
the elementary school track meets.
5. Glad Alan threw down some burgers and green
beans on the grill. Saline County knows about my work but my brother is not one
to be slept on.
6. When
strapping down all equipment, it is best to put the loose stuff – including
aluminum trays – in the vehicle: I now have to buy a aluminum table for my PK
Classic grill.
7. Huge
shout out to Chastity for cooking most of the sides and picking up the drinks. Otherwise, we’d all be lined up at the
garden hose drinking water if not fighting over pot liquor again.
8. Reneging
in spades is a felony punishable by banishment from the table.
9. That
being said, never trust Leah when she says “I got a couple” of books.
10.
Peach cobbler and or Jaimie’s cheesecake
could very well prevent wars – neither of which came from the box.
11.
With hungry eyes in the living room and
wife on the way back from the store, Deacon Armstrong had to pray to the point.
12.
Speaking of #11, thanks to our Mount
Zion Missionary Baptist Church family of Benton for understanding the greater
need to celebrate black love over another church anniversary. Our cookout was awesome
– and we cooked the right amount of food for everyone!
13.
For probably the same reason no one
recognized the Dub Shack work truck (my Ram), it was strange seeing Uncle Kent
pull up in something domestic.
14.
I wish Ryan aka Boogie and Caeli had
other kids to play with for more than an hour.
15.
For once, Dad was catered to instead of
running from pit to house.
16.
There was a sighting of Nacole! I tried
to send some Dub Shack BBQ back with her but she was too stuffed to even try
the product. However, we have an open invitation to seeing Tampa one of these
days – and since Disney World in Orlando is roughly ninety minutes away, it
could very well happen. After all, she is 1) the girl next door and 2) eleven
weeks younger than me. Nevertheless, it was good seeing my childhood friend.
17.
24 lbs. of pulled pork went away
quickly!
18.
BBQ Becky would’ve been sick seeing us.
19.
The sleep fairy is still undefeated as
evidenced by the people who fell asleep on the couch and in chairs.
20.
Dad and Mom have been the crash pad for
traveling family members – the ones from Kansas and even for a pair of UCA
undergraduates.
21.
From their union came my brother and me;
now we have our own families to shepherd in addition to two grandchildren to
adore in Aston and Caeli.
22.
No one fought over the greens’ pot
liquor this time.
23.
You weren’t pitting them against one
another as some children do (or try to) with their parents.
24.
In all of her irreverence, aunt Ann is
as blunt as ever.
25.
Once again, relatives got lost in town;
hey, this is par for the course when coming to Conway. Remember I got lost
coming home for the class reunion last year and although it is easier to manage
each trip, Exit 124 is still a new phenomenon.
26.
The aforementioned exit also cuts my
travel time from house to interstate down to 1 ½ miles: the half-mile to Friendship Road, and the
other mile to the house: Popeyes Chicken has officially become a special trip
to town.
27.
The family that prays and plays together
stays together.
28.
THOSE EPIC KICKBALL GAMES.
29.
One downside of being in the same place
for so long is seeing the gentrification of my ‘hood. In 1979, the roads were
dirt; today, all is paved (has been since the 80s – Judge Carter made certain
of that) and there is now a wedding chapel tucked away from what was once a
dumping grounds. If the city tries to annex, then I’m done.
30.
On their refrigerator is the same
scripture that I now try to live by at home:
Joshua 24:15. If you don’t know it, read the italicized text. Choose ye this whom ye will serve but as for
me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
All in all, what a grand time indeed! It’s not every
day couples make it to forty years of marriage, so giving Dad and Mom their
flowers while they can smell them is the least we can do. Thanks to everyone
who came out for the cookout!