Today is a pretty special day; today is my grandparents 65th wedding anniversary. That’s right, 65th.
Married in 1940, during WW2 when both were in their early 20s, they’re now in their late 80s and still together. Other than during the war, or due to illness, I expect they can count the number of nights they’ve spent apart on one hand. To date their family stands at 3 sons (all married), 7 grandchildren (some married) and 4 great grandchildren (none married but the eldest is only 11 so let’s give them a chance). Yesterday several of the family - spread over four generations - got together to have a very low key celebration in the residential home in which they now both live.
This landmark celebration has made me think. It’s extremely unlikely I’ll ever celebrate such an occasion. Even if I married tomorrow (and no, I don’t have an announcement) I’d need to live until 99 to reach such a date - and I think we know that’s unlikely! I wonder what else they’ve experienced that I won’t? They are the generation of the war - something I hope we never have to go through - but I guess they’ve also had to go through times of great austerity as well as huge technological changes. Indeed only yesterday they were admiring people’s digital cameras and commenting, as only older people can, about how things have changed since their day. But I also wonder if there are things we have to go through today which they are happy to miss?
I’m a bit of a comedy anorak and one of my favourite lines in a sitcom is when someone is explaining how they’ve screwed up a potential relationship. “You don’t get to still be single in your 30s by being good at this,” they note. Very true, and a little too close to home for my liking! I guess I should learn more about all sorts of things from my grandparents. Yes they are of a very different generation, and there will be times when they will drive me slightly mad (as I’m sure I do they). But when it comes what makes a good and long lasting marriage, whatever it is they’ve got, they’ve obviously got something right.
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