MONDAY DIARY: HOW MOM AND DAD MET

Sometimes people will say that they are glad that they are not a priest because of the sad stories we must hear all the time in the confessional or during difficult moments of people’s lives. But those stories are balanced out by the great ones told about the highlights from people’s lives.

For example during my wedding preps I always ask the question, “How did the engagement take place?” Though enjoyable, it also says something about the people involved. At least a quarter of the time the guys tries to plan something memorable and romantic and his soon-to-be-finance is not interested in doing whatever activity he has planned. One guy buried the ring in the beach where they liked to go building sand castles. The plan was to go out and start digging and say, “Oh my! What is this?” Of course for the first time in her life she did not want to go sand castle building that day. “But we HAVE to!” “No! I don’t want to go! I’m tired and hungry.” Of course he has to find away to go out and get that ring worth thousands of dollars out of the sand without giving away the surprise.

Much more of the time it works out. One of my favorites was a guy who brought his girl to the Christmas concert at St. Sebastian knowing how important her parish was to her. At the end they went over to one of the side shrines and he proposed to here there. It nice to know that chivalry is not completely dead. 99.5% of the time the guy still talks to Dad and Mom and still goes down on one knee when he asks.

There are the stories about how they met also. Online social network stories are popping up more but “met at the bar” stories seem to be waning. Perhaps my all time favorite “How We Met Story” was when the couple was very young and she beat him up in karate class at first making him cry and later solidifying their friendship until this coming year when they shall be known as Mr. and Mrs.

Do you have a story to share?  For those who got married or are engaged take the poll to the right.

HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER

A couple came into my office today to get married and I asked as I usually do how they met, courted, and eventually became engaged. It was a story that was always enjoyable hearing my parents tell of their own meeting. Mom worked behind the soda fountain and Dad was just home from the war in full uniform. They kept an eye on each other from afar until her brother, my Uncle Johnny, asked my Dad to join him, his date and my mother out to a dance. And, as Christopher West is fond of pointing out, the kids rhyme has it correct, "First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage."

So it seems with this couple that came in today. Not only will they have good memories and a clear conscience, but what a great story they will have to pass on their children. I can't imagine having the story, "We got drunk, we hooked up, and the next thing we knew we had to get married. But really! It turned out Okay! And we are happy! Really!"