Shalista Blog

I go to a lot of wedding. More than the average person for sure. These couples are so in love, smitten with each other and so happy to be getting married. The future is uncertain for these couples and I pray and hope for the best with each of them.

I wonder sometimes about my couples… where are they now? Do they have babies?! Are they happy? Are they still together. I see the family dynamics as an independent third party. I’ve seen mothers of the bride and their new daughters who are so close already. Father’s welcoming their new sons. New families being created. It’s a beautiful creation. 

 I’ve said before I have been known to cry at weddings, even people I just met. At Megan and Nathan’s wedding a couple weeks ago I was totally crying when Bob gave the best man speech and noted that he was here in the place of Nathan’s brother who passed away. And the mothers at the wedding were old friends. Megan’s dad was the photographer at Nathan’s parents’ wedding. There was so much history and love in the room. Who wouldn’t have started crying too?

It’s couples like Megan and Nathan who give me faith in the future.

It’s couples like Marvel and Alvin who give me faith in the past.

My husband’s grandparents were married 64 years this past June. When Dwayne and I got married on June 29, 2002 we shared that day with Grandma and Grandpa’s 60th Wedding Anniversary. We didn’t even plan that and found out shortly before our wedding what a lucky day we’d chosen.

Grandpa passed away shortly before Thanksgiving this year. Grandma follow him on Tuesday.

I’m just a granddaughter through marriage, but I can tell you that Grandma Marvel was one of the sweetest funniest ladies I’ll ever meet. Her grandchildren were her life and she made sure each and every one of them knew how loved and special they were to her.

They say that couples who are married a long time will pass away shortly after the other.

 Last week Grandma was Christmas shopping for the great-grandkids at Wal-Mart with my mother-in-law Donnette. This week we prepare to gather for our 2nd funeral in a month.

Give your husband, fiancé, mother, father, and especially your grandma and grandpa and extra long hug. Tell them how much you love and appreciate them.

I pray for all my wedded couples that they can enjoy this many years together. And I hope for myself that I can spend 64 years with Dwayne and the worst thing that ever happens is one of us dying of a broken heart.

RIP Marvel Farris