40 years

My parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary yesterday.  40 years is a long time to do anything, so I thought I'd honor them with this post.  

My parents have always taught me in relation to marriage, "You have to be committed to commitment."  Feelings come and go, but commitments are forever.  You won't always feel in love with your spouse; anyone who has been married more than a year can attest to that.  Feelings are what can help jump start a relationship, but what keeps you there in hard times?  A commitment to commitment.

They've been through more than I will ever know.  It hits home a lot more now as I have my own son what they must've gone through when I was sick in high school and the doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong.  They were always by my side though, and that's a lesson I'll always take from them.  Stick by loved ones no matter how difficult things become.

They still like to have fun together and tease each other.  That's probably where I get my sense of humor from.  They still enjoy each other's company, for the most part.  No one is perfect of course and I know they each can push each other's buttons at times but they're still very clearly 'for' one another.  They are 'for' the other person doing well in life and want to help them get to that point.

It's weird thinking they've been married 40 years and even weirder thinking I turn 40 in a few short years.  What all have they been through that I have no idea about?  What was life like before I came along and after Nathan and I left the house?

They raised us to be independent.  Nathan and I both have lead fairly successful lives and have both traveled the world so I'd say they were successful at that attempt.  I hope to raise my son to be independent as well.

When I have questions about raising David, they're the first ones I turn to.  I'm grateful that Stef gets along so well with them and I get along so well with her parents.  We both come from 'good stock' if you will and hope to carry on that tradition to the next generation.

If you know my parents, please congratulate them the next time you see them, would you?