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June 11, 2004
60h Anniversary
This past Sunday marked my maternal grandparents wedding anniversary. As it turned out they got married on D-Day.
When they walked out of the church they heard bells ringing all over town and thought someone was doing it for their benefit. They didn't hear about the invasion until the reception. I still chuckle thinking about it.
60 years. *whew* No pressure there.
I'll be 92 on the occasion of our 60th wedding anniversary. (That's assuming that Fabulous Babe doesn't administer a course correction on some of my thinking with a skillet one night.) Junior will be old enough to have theoretically provided me with at least one grandchild to dote on and there might be a possibility of great-grandchildren.
I have no idea what the divorce rate is with married couples in the US these days. I also have no idea what the average age of people getting married is. (Be interested to see what the breakdown is per state and as a national whole.) I do have a couple of theories.
I think people are becoming more particular about who they end up with. FB and I both had our share of learning experiences. (I'm using "learning experiences" instead of the more appropriate "horrid dates with people we would just as soon forget.") We both know people who married early and divorced early which drove our desire to find someone that wasn’t a half measure.
I always chalk it up to the point that finding someone who loves you, shares your interests and put up with your faults after 28 is someone you should immediately marry. I also recommend tying them down and lashing them to the couch until you get the "Yes" out of them.
That isn’t an endorsement for “settling” on someone. That’s madness. That leads to comments at parties like “Yes, I know, but I’m working on him” which implies he’s like a piece of broken pottery or a chair that needs to be leveled. Perhaps even more despicable is the unappreciative “My wife is ok” which is a compliment that would sound more appropriate about a slightly warm Pop Tart. If you hear things like that then realize the other person has reduced their spouse to the level of that ratty blanket you throw over you to watch television: comfortable but better hidden from view when company comes.
I can remember my grandparents arguing. (After the first 40 years they knew exactly which buttons to press.) I never saw them belittle each other and I think that is a key difference. They never lost respect for one another.
Take the time to tip your hats to my grandparents. They fell in love, married, raised my mom and aunt, ended up raising me and have stayed together through feast and famine for 60 years. Great stuff.
Posted by Jim at June 11, 2004 01:41 AM