My parents' gift to my children
Yesterday my children received a very unusual gift: their grandparents (on my wife's side) celebrated 50 years of marriage. Two years ago, my own parents marked their 50th wedding anniversary, meaning that my kids can now boast something very few in their generation will ever know: the good fortune having both sets of grandparents married for over 50 years.
Grandparental death or divorce deprive most children today of seeing Golden Anniversaries celebrated in their families, that is, of knowing two people who made it through five decades together. My kids now know two couples who did so.
Neither my parents nor Ang's would claim that every day was wine and roses, or that they never faced difficulties, or that they never wondered at times how they'd get through even one more day. But that's precisely the key to understanding the example, the legacy, they have left us: They've showed us that things don't have to be perfect to be good. Very good.
For the goodness that Nade & Nancy and Anthony & Joan have shown my children, I am grateful. And I can't help noticing that, in celebrating their lifes together, they couldn't help giving us all something to celebrate as well. Why?
Because that's the way real Love is. It just can't help sharing.
Grandparental death or divorce deprive most children today of seeing Golden Anniversaries celebrated in their families, that is, of knowing two people who made it through five decades together. My kids now know two couples who did so.
Neither my parents nor Ang's would claim that every day was wine and roses, or that they never faced difficulties, or that they never wondered at times how they'd get through even one more day. But that's precisely the key to understanding the example, the legacy, they have left us: They've showed us that things don't have to be perfect to be good. Very good.
For the goodness that Nade & Nancy and Anthony & Joan have shown my children, I am grateful. And I can't help noticing that, in celebrating their lifes together, they couldn't help giving us all something to celebrate as well. Why?
Because that's the way real Love is. It just can't help sharing.
posted by Dr. Edward Peters at
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