Today is my mom and dad’s 37th wedding
anniversary. When I was a kid,
anniversaries didn’t really mean much, but now that I’m an adult and married
myself, I understand what an accomplishment 37 years of marriage really is.
My parents have been through a lot during their marriage – being poor, schooling, multiple jobs, being without jobs, sickness, depression, having two children within two years of each other and all the hardships that go along with raising children, losing parents, becoming empty nesters – and a whole host of other things, some of which I don’t even know about.
I have learned a ton about marriage from watching them. I have learned
when to speak and when to be silent (though I don’t always execute it
appropriately). I have learned how to
bear an unequal share of the load while the other invests in the future. I have learned how to be a parenting team,
united not always in method, but always in dedication. And I am learning how to love him more than
me.
But the most important lesson my parents taught me is commitment. My
parents rarely argued in front of us, but I do remember hearing them one time
and asking whether they were going to get divorced. My mom dropped the conversation with my dad
and immediately got down in front of me and said, “No. We may argue and fight, but we will never get
divorced because we made a commitment to each other. A commitment is when you make a promise you
will never ever break. And that’s what
marriage is. Never forget that, and don’t let anyone tell you
different.”
I haven’t, and I won’t. I
love you both. Happy Anniversary.
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