The Mistaken Moon

Lon and I were talking about some of the most hilarious moments in our 16 1/2 years of marriage the other day when the story of "The Mistaken Moon" came to mind. We relived that silly moment when mistaking someone for your spouse can have severe and longlasting consequences...

First of all, please know that I have Lon's full permission to write this story from about 10 years ago in my blog. We hope it brings a smile to your face and a laugh to your day. If so, then we will have done our job :)

Now for the background information: my sister and I were returning home from a fun evening together. We had seen a wholesome love story movie that our husbands would never see unless they were under some heavy-duty sedation - the kind for a major surgical procedure. Yep, this movie was way too lovey dovey for the man-mans of our lives!

At the time, Lon and I weren't the only ones who owned a Jeep Cherokee on our street. Our neighbors two houses down - a sweet Christian couple in their 50s - also owned a Cherokee. As my sister and I pulled into our neighborhood, I saw in front of us the neighbors, who also owned a Cherokee driving down the street. We followed them at some distance, laughing and giggling as only sisters can do. Little did we know those giggles would become intensely more profound within the next few minutes.

It was a very dark night, so I can understand how Lon could mistake our neighbors' Cherokee for ours, even though their Jeep was several years newer, hence the headlights worked much better and were much brighter (believe me, the bright headlights are an important part of this story!)

As our innocent neighbors rounded the corner onto our street, Lon was waiting - but not for them. He was actually waiting for us. Mistakenly thinking our neighbors were my sister and I, Lon stood in front of the driveway facing any and all oncoming traffic (not much, thankfully, on our street) and did his best to present a "moon" to light up the dark night. He crouched low and dropped his drawers ever so slightly while his gaze remained in the opposite direction. I can imagine him laughing hilariously to himself thinking how he had shocked us. He knows I don't see well at night, so he was probably figuring his white behind would illuminate the driveway and therefore help me to see to drive safely into the driveway without an accident. How wrong he was!

Our neighbors were shocked at the sight they beheld - seen ever so much clearer with the aid of fully-functioning new vehicle headlights. Later, they told us that after they recovered, they began to laugh uncontrollably at Lon's antic. They never ceased to forget the night there was a mistaken moon on our street.

A few seconds later, my sister and I rounded the corner, but by then, Lon had figured out the mistaken identity. He stood laughing with our neighbors as he recanted his story of the mistaken moon. My sister and I joined in the laughter and Lon took a vow (with Scout's honor) that night to never moon anyone (unless he was absolutely positively 100% sure it was me) again!

Our dear neighbors have since moved and we have since traded in our Jeep Cherokee. But one thing remains- the memory of the night sky on our quiet street being forever changed and illuminated at the hand of a silly husband who thought he'd shock his wife.

Take some time to do something silly (maybe not as embarrassing as the above story) but something silly nonetheless to make a memory in your marriage. I feel blessed to be able to share such hilarious times with the man God gave to me to be my life partner. We've been through good times, difficult times, stressful times, hungry and lean times, and funny practical joke times in our marriage - times that neither of us has ever regretted.

By the way, did I ever tell you that funny joke we played on an innocent bystander at our local grocery store? I'll save that for another time...