Till Death Do Us Part

This August, some of our senior clients are celebrating milestone wedding anniversaries, two of the couples happen to be my relatives. My parents, Joy & Jim, will be celebrating their 63rd wedding anniversary on the 24th. Today as I write this, my in-laws, Mike & Cheryl are celebrating their 55th. As my mind ambled down memory lane, I thought of my grandparents who were married for 77 years before grandpa passed at the age of 97. Grandma lived another five years without him, in her own home making egg noodles and pies from scratch. They were 16 & 19 when they wed in 1926. They survived the Great Depression, the War to end all wars, the sudden death of their firstborn child at age seven, and later on the death of their only son and another daughter, each passing at age 63. My mother is their only surviving child.

When I was a young bride, I’d ask them “how they did it”. In humility, they responded as if they hadn’t done anything special…they just did what it took to get by and ended up getting by quite nicely. They worked as team, did not criticize or complain publicly, and laughed a lot. If you want to know the secrets to a long and happy life and a minimally dysfunctional marriage, then spend some time with a senior who is happy and has been married a LONG time. 


Their wisdom is priceless.