And They Said it Wouldn't Last!

Just kidding. Nobody said it wouldn't last. But, here we are, 40 years after saying "I do" and still together. We had to take this picture of ourselves with Dave's arm extended because we were alone. Perhaps that's how anniversaries should be celebrated, though...alone together. After all, we came into this agreement with just the two of us and it seems fitting to celebrate it with just the two of us.

How clearly I can remember our courtship as though it were yesterday. I remember the reasons why we fell in love and know it was a good decision to marry. Sure, sometimes during the 40 years it wasn't as easy as other times but the prize was always in sight; to stay together and live our lives through old age side by side. It helps that we had good examples. My parents were married 58 years until Dad passed away and Dave's parents are still together for 66 years and counting. However, I think it's more than that which has kept us together. I think that during times of stress it's remembering the good qualities in your mate. It's saying to yourself, "Well, this is annoying but how can I forget how wonderful he/she was when..." It's remembering that we, ourselves, are not perfect.

It's about sharing experiences and remembering to have fun together. And, that's what we did on September 6th. We carefully thought about where we wanted to have our special dinner. We made the reservation. We had a fabulous dinner at a new place so we experienced that together. Then, for old time's sake, we went to a favorite haunt and had an after dinner drink. While there, the entertainer of the night who knew us from many prior visits, greeted us warmly. Dave somewhat proudly told him we had come there tonight because we were celebrating our 40th anniversary. Larry quickly picked up on the news and gave us each a free drink card. Then his first song of the night was in honor of our anniversary. We were the only people on the dance floor and I felt proud to be in my husband's arms. In fact, we were so busy congratulating ourselves all night that we almost broke our arms, patting ourselves on the back. We are a bit of an oddity in today's world being married for so long. In truth, we always say we have only really been married 20 years since Dave travelled 50% of our married life. Hah! Well, now we are together 24/7 and making up for lost time. The secret, should you ask??? To laugh, to love, to communicate, to experience adventures together, to respect each other, to commit to each other, to build your own life while still sharing your life together, to come together in times of need and to support each other always. And, it doesn't hurt to say, "I love you" every day.