Till Death Do Us Part

When I asked my father, "What was the happiest moment of your life?" I expected kids. In all honesty, having two children is quite a story to tell, but with me and my little brother, it's not as exciting. The problem is that I've lived that story, I was looking for a story that took my breathe away and left me guessing. And so my father began telling about marrying the love of his life, and the honeymoon. (Sorry for putting down your first answer of children dad, but I think this story is FAR better.)

My parents married in the Flemingsburg Christian Church almost 20 years ago. After going on a blind date set up by a hairdresser it was love at first sight, and definitely something I believe was Hallmark potential. Even as my mom walked down the aisle, my father described her as, "25/10. She is perfection, nothing less.". After getting married, spirits are always high, until an unexpected disaster strikes. When getting a free cake, my parents must have been excited, I mean the most stressful part of wedding planning by far is budgeting. What no one expected was the cake to be so citrusy that all guests scrunched up their faces and there were leftovers for days. Bless the old woman's heart who made it, and thanks to her for it. I just can't help but imagine everyone's surprise on the first bite, and my parents expression when they fed each other. Man, if only I existed at that time to see it.

Despite that setback, my parents continued to enjoy the wedding. My father described the atmosphere as chill and relaxed, exactly what they hoped for. Next thing they both knew after getting home, tired, and wanting to rest, was to find out they locked themselves out of their house. Not only are they now stuck outside of the house, but in full wedding attire. My father said that our neighbor, Mark, came out and was surprised to see them like this. He wasn't aware they got married and congratulated them before getting in his car and driving off to do Uber. So after that embarrassing episode and some irritated grunts, my parents sat on the tailgate of their truck and called my grandpa. He showed up minutes later amused and unlocked the house.

Surely now everything will be better? I mean after a bad cake, and getting locked out, the afternoon should at least be a blast. Well, it wasn't. Once it was time to leave for their dinner reservation, they had just gained access to the house. With no rest and now the keys to the house, they called down in Northern KY where the restaurant was to make sure they still had their reservations. What they didn't expect was to realize they wouldn't make it in time for it. My parents were already driving though so they had to pivot and ended up having to go to Frisch's for dinner. Weird looks were sent their way as they sat, still in wedding attire. Just to make matters worse, they were called out by one who recognized them about their wedding that day. No embarrassment is spared from them as they finally go home and rest.

This story makes me exhausted and I could see the irritation in my Fathers face when recounting it all. I thought this would be all of an exciting story I would get from the interview, but that wasn't until I asked about the honeymoon. When getting married one part focused on is "Till death do us part.". Well, my parents weren't expecting to come face to face with possible death. A cruise was planned, and that's great. I personally have never been on a cruise, but it sounds like a lot of fun with many possibilities. There wasn't many fun activities they could do though once their cruise ship got stuck in Hurricane Wilma. Funnily enough, my father's grandmother shared a name with the hurricane and dislikes him greatly. So now what was to be a nice cruise is stuck in the Gulf of Mexico with peak 40ft waves hitting the ship. My parents tried to make the best of this though by playing Bingo. That night when my father was two away from winning $8,000 untaxed, the win was stripped of him from a player who hadn't joined till that night.

So to end their honeymoon they saw nothing special, got some seasickness, and no prize money. The trip home must have been silent. Perhaps they laughed though, trying to make the most of a ridiculous situation. Despite all that happened during the wedding and honeymoon, my parents stuck together and weren't broken by these events. My parents meant it when they said "Till death do us part" I suppose. To conclude, some advice for before a wedding: buy the cake, have your keys on you, make sure you make it to your dinner reservation. Finally, if you plan to have a cruise for you honeymoon, do check the weather.