Two happy fools

I've been trying all day to think of an April fool's joke to put on my blog. But I've not figured out one that people who don't necessarily know me would understand and there is definitely no way I could work up one as intricate as Gmail's this morning. Custom time stamping for emails... talk about an ethical dilemma! I will admit that it did take me a few minutes to get what was going on. So, Google, you got me! I thought instead of trying to play tricks I would share with you one of the reasons I love April Fools Day.

Fifty-five years ago today my Grammy and Granddaddy were married. They are still together today and I think they would be proud of the title I've given this post. In many ways they have been fools in love. Whenever I visit, I can tell that their affection for each other has grown with each passing year. Their love has a great story... one that I've always loved to hear. I'm not going to share all of it now, but I do want to share with you one of my favorite anecdotes. This encounter happened not too long before they were engaged. My granddaddy, Elick, paid a visit to my grandmother, Margaret, in her hometown of Broxton. Margaret was engaged to be married... dress purchased, invitations ordered, and announcement already in the local newspaper. Elick knew of the engagement, in fact he was in a pretty steady relationship too, but he decided to visit anyway. Margaret did agree to go out for a drive with him around the county. They stopped on the local college campus to talk. And this is my favorite part-- I can hear my grandmother tell me this part of the story right now. She told Elick, "My mother always said, 'you can't have your cake and eat it too.'" With that she decided to call off her engagement to Ross Lily and Elick decided to end his relationship too, the rest as they say is history.

My grandparents were married on April first in the small church next door to my grandmother's childhood home. And if you were wondering, their were no jokes played at the altar. Margaret wore the dress she had already decided upon and Elick stood next to her as the grateful bridegroom. During those fifty-five years, they started a family of which I was the first grandchild and eventually settled back in Broxton across from my grandmother's home and the special church where they began their lives. I love them... I'm sure you can tell. Happy Anniversary, Grammy and Granddaddy.

Happy to be among a family of fools, Margaret.

Thanks to Benjamin Chia for letting me share your fun photo of old playing cards through Flickr, titled Le Forgotten.