Two Wrongs Can Make a Right

Judy Goodson

3 years ago

wrongs Do two wrongs really make a right? When I think of my experiences with Marriage, I think they can. Sometimes, we have omens that we should pay attention to. At the rehearsal for my first marriage, a bat flew down from the choir loft and spread out on the church altar. The groomsmen proceeded to bludgeon it to death. Not a pretty sight. Should I have paid attention? Possibly.

On the day of my second wedding, the groom lost the wedding rings and we came painfully close to having to “fake” rings at the ceremony. Another omen? Could be.

When my present (and final) husband and I were married, it just felt right. We had shopped together for my dress. We found the perfect dress on a bargain rack at the Jessica McClintock store in San Francisco. Next, we walked, hand in hand, down the street with our treasure and found the perfect hat at a JC Penney store on Union Square.

We went back to Wisconsin to be married at the First Lutheran Church. We both loved the church as it was in 1986. We loved the beautiful lighting, the warmth of the interior, and the coziness we felt there. The ambiance matched the happiness we felt on this special day.

When we arrived at the church to dress, my sister shared the hat she was going to wear. It could have been designed by the same person that designed my hat. She smiled and revealed that she had purchased it the day before our wedding at our local Shopko store. Coincidence? I don’t think so.

The Church had a small and very special audience for our remarkable day. On the Groom’s side were his first wife, her sister, their brother, and their mother who we both thought the world of.

My side (the bride’s side) of the church had an equally special attendance. My Mom, my sister’s mother-in-law, and very close friends of mine from High School. Other family members attended and were involved in the ceremony.

As the ceremony began, the groom’s son offered his arm to walk me down the aisle. He was dressed in his official Navy Blues and I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. His wife of one week was also seated in the church.

My two nieces and a nephew-in-law were providing the music. We had chosen a Lionel Richie favorite, “Truly”. We had a piano, a guitar and three lovely voices. I had listened to their practice this very morning and knew that we had chosen the perfect music. As the time came for the song to be performed, we could see the sun beginning to set through the stained-glass windows. As the song continued, the music became softer and softer. We looked at each other and wondered what had happened. It turns out that writing music down, on paper, with a pencil, is not the best idea when you are performing at a candlelight service. They faked it as best they could, even though no one could see the music in front of them. (Every wedding needs to have a moment like this to create a great laugh in telling the story later!)

After the ceremony, we all went to my sister’s home. As always, the house was decorated beautifully and we all had a great time catching up on old times and celebrating new times. Our wedding cake was a carrot cake, one of my favorites. We learned that dense cakes are not always the best to stack in three layers. As the evening went on the cake began to sink a bit but no matter- It tasted heavenly.

Thinking back on this day, it was the perfect combination of ceremony, Commitment, seriousness, a few tears and laughter. A perfect recipe for a memorable day. As the day came to an end, we drove to Madison and relived the day. We would be getting together with the whole family for brunch the next day at Edgewater.

Over the years, I had challenged my family with my questionable decisions. On this day, I knew that the right choice had been made and that we would all share many happy times together. The third time was the charm.