Good evening everyone. Let me first of all introduce myself and my husband...I
am Penny Hoffman and this is my husband Irwin...we are the proud parents of
Alexander and the proud new in laws of our most beautiful bride
Mel.
And before I go any further I would like to congratulate Shirley and Kevin on their anniversary and to acknowledge Mel's grandma as being the first bride in the group on this date.
Best Wishes to you all.I wanted to say a few words tonight to tell the world just how pleased we both are with Alexander's choice for life partner
. It was about 6 years ago when I FINALLY received that phone call that all parent's wait for...that phone call that announces that their child is bringing someone special home for them to meet.
My first impression?
What a beauty! Red hair! Wonderful smile!
My second impression? What a nice little girl.
My third impression later on in the weekend?
'Yep. This could be the ONE."Followed later by the thought: "That would be a good thing."
Shortly after their arrival to our rural home near Yorkton, Alexander went off exploring 'home' and left Mel sitting in the kitchen with me while I prepared lunch. I remember visiting with her and her talking about her mom and dad, her sister, her grandma, and her aunts and uncles...all in this first conversation and I thought to myself, "This young woman really loves her family and is well loved by her family. How nice! How refreshing!"
Over the years that we have known Mel our own love for her has steadily grown ...her ready smile and wonderful laugh, her down to earth practicality in knowing what in life is important..(proven when she bought Alexander blue jeans for Christmas one year), and her genuine goodness and compassion has never ceased to impress us.
I also want to mention that she is a GREAT co-camper--a true test of character.
Just a little story...Mel's first experience camping in a tent was with us during a very cold and snowy May long weekend. Our camping experience, being a bit more primitive than most, consists of a small camper with the private facilities being located in a little tent outside of the camper. In the middle of the cold wet night I happened to look out and saw the 'facility' tent wiggling and wiggling and I thought that it must have been particularly windy out. It wasn't until the next morning that Mel shared that she had been out and about in the middle of the night and that the zipper on that particular shelter had gotten stuck and that the wiggling that I had seen in the night was her trying to escape until she finally crawled on her hands and knees to get outside and free. What is even more incredible is that she even went camping again after that experience. She has an open invitation from Irwin to go camping anytime
.I would now like to give a few words of advice from someone who has been married for over 30 years...some of this knowledge will be well entrenched in any long married couple's relationship so it wouldn't be new to many in the crowd.
1st of all I would like to forewarn Mel and Alexander that there are indeed going to be moments when you just will "have to love them anyway'. I am talking about those times when you will have to grit your teeth, bite your lip, leave the room and go for a walk." Such moments may come when, from pure just plain lack of judgment and bad luck salt instead of the sugar will be used to top off the rhubarb crisp . A walk might be in order following an incident let's say of the use of a blow torch on a family heirloom crystal candle stick used to dislodge old wax. A good lip biting might be the best choice in terms of response when for example, 'someone' drives long long long long after the gauge shows HOT on the dash of a little treasured Mazda quarter ton truck and consequently melts the whole of the engine block. ( like who knew that could actually happen?)
Other times these methods of home preservation may be used would be after 'someone' forgets to close the deep freeze door for the weekend, or when one of you takes the car off to work with the other's purse in the passenger seat beside them in plain sight...and an even BIGGER LIP BITE might be in order when one partner drives off through the mud for three miles before realizing that the 'other' is indeed not in the back seat and is in actuality still standing outside-- in the field-- in the rain.
My second piece of advice to both Alexander and Mel as they embark on their life together is to make sure they always remember that the other one has been greatly loved and cherished by their own parents . Parents, who only want the very best for them. I ask that during the dark times , the times when they are the most angry, the times when they do not want to forgive and forget, the times when they most want to lash out, that they remember that deep down inside the other one is still the little child that was loved and cuddled by their parents and that they try to use that image to be compassionate, forgiving and loving once again.
Finally I would like to thank all of Mel's relatives along with Grandma, Shirley and Kevin, with a special thanks also to sister Kerry, for welcoming Alexander aka "Slick" so nicely into their family fold.
There is nothing that makes a parent happier than to know that their child is loved and safe and I believe that to be true today.
May God Bless you Alexander and Mel with many wonderful years together. We wish you prosperity, good health, and much happiness but along with all those things I wish you the doubled joy and half the grief that is possible by a life being shared.
May He give you each wisdom and patience and the capacity to forgive as you travel onward through this special life's journey. May all the marriages in this building be blessed by your example and, also, as today is the anniversary of other weddings, may it serve as a reminder to us all that one does not simply 'get' married...but rather one 'does' marriage...over and over and over again.
And before I go any further I would like to congratulate Shirley and Kevin on their anniversary and to acknowledge Mel's grandma as being the first bride in the group on this date.
Best Wishes to you all.I wanted to say a few words tonight to tell the world just how pleased we both are with Alexander's choice for life partner
. It was about 6 years ago when I FINALLY received that phone call that all parent's wait for...that phone call that announces that their child is bringing someone special home for them to meet.
My first impression?
What a beauty! Red hair! Wonderful smile!
My second impression? What a nice little girl.
My third impression later on in the weekend?
'Yep. This could be the ONE."Followed later by the thought: "That would be a good thing."
Shortly after their arrival to our rural home near Yorkton, Alexander went off exploring 'home' and left Mel sitting in the kitchen with me while I prepared lunch. I remember visiting with her and her talking about her mom and dad, her sister, her grandma, and her aunts and uncles...all in this first conversation and I thought to myself, "This young woman really loves her family and is well loved by her family. How nice! How refreshing!"
Over the years that we have known Mel our own love for her has steadily grown ...her ready smile and wonderful laugh, her down to earth practicality in knowing what in life is important..(proven when she bought Alexander blue jeans for Christmas one year), and her genuine goodness and compassion has never ceased to impress us.
I also want to mention that she is a GREAT co-camper--a true test of character.
Just a little story...Mel's first experience camping in a tent was with us during a very cold and snowy May long weekend. Our camping experience, being a bit more primitive than most, consists of a small camper with the private facilities being located in a little tent outside of the camper. In the middle of the cold wet night I happened to look out and saw the 'facility' tent wiggling and wiggling and I thought that it must have been particularly windy out. It wasn't until the next morning that Mel shared that she had been out and about in the middle of the night and that the zipper on that particular shelter had gotten stuck and that the wiggling that I had seen in the night was her trying to escape until she finally crawled on her hands and knees to get outside and free. What is even more incredible is that she even went camping again after that experience. She has an open invitation from Irwin to go camping anytime
.I would now like to give a few words of advice from someone who has been married for over 30 years...some of this knowledge will be well entrenched in any long married couple's relationship so it wouldn't be new to many in the crowd.
1st of all I would like to forewarn Mel and Alexander that there are indeed going to be moments when you just will "have to love them anyway'. I am talking about those times when you will have to grit your teeth, bite your lip, leave the room and go for a walk." Such moments may come when, from pure just plain lack of judgment and bad luck salt instead of the sugar will be used to top off the rhubarb crisp . A walk might be in order following an incident let's say of the use of a blow torch on a family heirloom crystal candle stick used to dislodge old wax. A good lip biting might be the best choice in terms of response when for example, 'someone' drives long long long long after the gauge shows HOT on the dash of a little treasured Mazda quarter ton truck and consequently melts the whole of the engine block. ( like who knew that could actually happen?)
Other times these methods of home preservation may be used would be after 'someone' forgets to close the deep freeze door for the weekend, or when one of you takes the car off to work with the other's purse in the passenger seat beside them in plain sight...and an even BIGGER LIP BITE might be in order when one partner drives off through the mud for three miles before realizing that the 'other' is indeed not in the back seat and is in actuality still standing outside-- in the field-- in the rain.
My second piece of advice to both Alexander and Mel as they embark on their life together is to make sure they always remember that the other one has been greatly loved and cherished by their own parents . Parents, who only want the very best for them. I ask that during the dark times , the times when they are the most angry, the times when they do not want to forgive and forget, the times when they most want to lash out, that they remember that deep down inside the other one is still the little child that was loved and cuddled by their parents and that they try to use that image to be compassionate, forgiving and loving once again.
Finally I would like to thank all of Mel's relatives along with Grandma, Shirley and Kevin, with a special thanks also to sister Kerry, for welcoming Alexander aka "Slick" so nicely into their family fold.
There is nothing that makes a parent happier than to know that their child is loved and safe and I believe that to be true today.
May God Bless you Alexander and Mel with many wonderful years together. We wish you prosperity, good health, and much happiness but along with all those things I wish you the doubled joy and half the grief that is possible by a life being shared.
May He give you each wisdom and patience and the capacity to forgive as you travel onward through this special life's journey. May all the marriages in this building be blessed by your example and, also, as today is the anniversary of other weddings, may it serve as a reminder to us all that one does not simply 'get' married...but rather one 'does' marriage...over and over and over again.
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