Fielder’s Choice

All days are good. Sunday, May 19, was a great one.

At the top of the agenda was the 50th wedding anniversary celebration of my sister Vickie and her husband Hugh.

The big event had been on the family calendar for a few months and highly anticipated.

But the activities of the great day actually began on the way over to Hamilton, Ala.

We stopped at Fulton Church of Christ for worship service. And it was just like going home.

I was in Fulton from 1986 to 1991. Pam and I were married in the church building there in 1989 by her father, who was the minister.

We arrived a couple of Sundays ago just in time for the start of the service. And as we were taking our seat about five rows up from the back, a couple of people were already sneaking in waves to us.

Afterwards, it was basically one happy reunion.

Lots of good friends gave us big hugs and then wanted to catch up on what was going on in our lives. And of course, there was plenty of reminiscing about my five years in Itawamba County. I loved it there, and it will always hold a special place in my heart.

Vickie and Hugh’s 50th wedding anniversary reception was wonderful. They are loved and respected by everyone.

The fellowship hall at the Burleson Church of Christ, on Highway 278 halfway between Hamilton and Haleyville, was beautifully decorated. Included on several of the tables were lots of old photos.

My favorite was one of my father Wilburn (who passed away when I was 10) and my mother Lavelle, who was holding a baby, Vickie.

I was always amazed by the beauty of Mother, inside and out. And this photo really made that beauty shine. She died in 2013, and she’s greatly missed.

As the guests starting pouring in to honor my sister and brother-in-law, it was just another happy reunion. I shared hugs, laughter and conversation with people I hadn’t seen in many years – a few of them in like 35 years.

I was raised in that community (a mile from the Burleson Church of Christ). The folks there are loving, caring, kind, down to earth and Bible-based. Many of them helped raise me.

There were no cell phones for my mother to keep up with me. My friends and I would roam from house to house, to the river and streams, and even into the hills. We’d often pitch a tent and spend the night in those woods. I could not have asked for a better upbringing in a better community.

On the way back to Holly Springs , we stopped in Tupelo to visit with a longtime friend, Rubye Del Harden, and her husband Roy Jaeger.

The primary reason of the visit was for son Andy and his fiancée Brooke to let Rubye Del know they wanted her to be a grandmother in their wedding, set for November in Hattiesburg.

All of Andy’s grandparents have passed away. So it was fitting he would ask Rubye Del to fill the special role. She has long been a part of our extended family. She has celebrated the good times with the Burlesons and helped us through the challenging ones. To Andy, she truly is a grandmother.

She cried. I think we all cried. They were tears of joy.

It was the perfect ending to a perfect day.