Wayne's watch

on the trolley on the way to the ceremony

There are many stories from Julie and Wayne's wedding day that still need to be told (and retold). There were so so many moments that were touching and memorable.
One especially poignant moment was when Julie gave her wedding day gift to Wayne. Here is the back story.
When my dad retired from IBM in 1984 (though he did continue to work for many years after that as a consultant), he received a watch that was engraved with his name and the date of his retirement. He wore that watch with great pride everyday. When Pawp died in 1987, he passed on the watch to my brother Tom. Tom also wore that watch with great pride, through the ups and downs of his life. As I am writing this, I had the memory of Tom asking me to hold on to it while he was getting his last chemo treatment for his brain tumor. I remember putting it on my wrist because I was afraid of losing it. After Tom died in 2007, Ann (his widow) very graciously passed it on to Wayne. Wayne was graduating from college and just starting his career with Kraft in Cincinnati. The watch needed a tune up (this brand of watch needs to be serviced about every 20 years and it is a significant amount of money) and Wayne was concerned about wearing such a nice watch in the early days of his job. We ended up keeping it at our house until he was ready for it.
Julie came to us shortly after their engagement to talk about the watch. She said she knew it was extremely special to Wayne and that she would like to have it tuned up/reconditioned/whatever the term is as a wedding present for him.
And Julie did.
On the day of their wedding, shortly after their "first look" (when the groom sees the bride for the first time if it is not going to be at the altar), Julie presented Wayne with the watch, now in top condition. The only people present were Julie, Wayne, the photographer and the videographer. Wayne said it took him at least a full minute to compose himself when he opened up his gift.
And what a gift that watch was.
That timepiece symbolized a tie to the past and the strong family bonds that were instilled by my father and brother and that can never be broken.
What incredible insight and thoughtfulness Julie showed. She knows her husband and what is important to him.
I cannot wait to see the pictures and videos of this special moment.
And we haven't even yet talked about Jack's best man speech.

look at all that bling!