“A wedding anniversary is the celebration of love, trust, partnership, tolerance and tenacity… the order varies for any given year.” – Paul Sweeney

A couple of months ago my parents celebrated their golden jubilee… fifty years of marriage…

Fifty years…

Fifty years of love… unconditionally… because without love you could never make it to fifty years of marriage…

Fifty years of trust… blinding trust… faith in eachother and in their relationship…

Fifty years of partnership… conquering good times and bad… together…

Fifty years of tolerance… because what is more important in marriage than putting water into your wine… keeping one eye open, but the other one closed… keeping silent when you want to scream and what about that endless compromising…

Fifty years of tenacity… perseverance… holding onto eachother and to their relationship. Staying strong together… ready for the next hurdle… as those always came unexpected and too often…

Fifty years of marriage… so many things that happened during those years… in the world and in their own lives… death… but also life. Tears… but also peels of laughter. Utter distress… but also utter bliss and happiness. Many things they would do the same… and perhaps even more they would do otherwise.

So here we are… fifty years later… three children and nine grand-children later… celebrating the past fifty years… and celebrating many more years to come.

Mum and dad… I love you heaps.

Love, Kathleen