50 Beautiful Years
Marriage is a beautiful thing. Contrary to many married folks I happen to love being married. I know I can attribute a lot of it to my wonderful husband and the relationship we have developed, but I can’t help but give some credit to the amazing examples I’ve had the honor of observing over the years.
I realize how rare it is, and I also realize that every family is different and has their own story, but I am proud and amazed that I was raised with two sets of grandparents still in their first marriages and parents who were high school sweethearts. Two years ago one set of grandparents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, next year my parents will celebrate 30 years together and this past weekend we threw a bash to celebrate the 50th wedding anniversary of my other grandparents.
No marriage is without difficulties but my grandparents and parents have done an outstanding job of getting through the difficult times together (most of the time with us kids never being the wiser) and coming out stronger than ever. I’m blessed to consistently see the love in all of their eyes for each other and have a beautiful model on which to base my own marriage.
This past Saturday we wanted to give them the wedding reception they never had so we invited 100 of their friends to a beautifully restored barn called Yesterday Spaces for a dinner of slow smoked pork tenderloin and chicken legs frilled to perfection by my cousin Tug. There was music, food, fellowship and even a wedding cake.
After stuffing our bellies full we began five rounds of decade trivia MCed by my father and accompanied by 50 years of memories shown in a slide show.
My Papaw and Mamaw are two of the most important and influential people in my life. In watching the slide show documenting their 50 years through pictures it brought tears to my eyes to simply watch their love and blessings grow.
In listening to my Papaw extend thanks and talk about what a blessing Mamaw, our family and his life has been it filled my heart with such a hope and appreciation for the possibilities in this life.
And in seeing our somewhat extensive family enjoy each other’s company, laughing and smiling big toothy grins I left with a full warm heart. I’m so thankful for my family and for what a marriage has brought to it. As my friend Sarah put it, I can only pray for the longevity to make it 50 years with Husband. What a true and beautiful blessing.
