Celebrating a 60th Wedding Anniversary—A Life of Love

Posted 23 August 2016 by
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Kevin and I arrive in the lobby at the agreed-upon time: 6:15 p.m. Mom, Dad, Cindy, and Terri are already there looking nice in their fancy tropical attire. From the second-floor open-lobby balcony we can see that the cabana near the beach is being set up for our arrival. We arrive at the entrance to the restaurant, and the host knows right away we are here for our event. She takes us around the large swimming pool over to the very last cabana, where a table for six has been set up with a beautiful flower arrangement in the middle. A guitarist is playing Hawaiian music next to our table. The sun is low, so the air inside the cabana is nice and cool. While I’m not into the specifics of a particular setting, my INFP preferences certainly appeal to an overall pretty aesthetic. That word pretty used to embarrass me, but now that I understand myself better, I rather like that word.

Today is the actual day of my parents’ 60th anniversary. Imagine, 60 years ago they were married. Being that they were both very young at the time, the odds were not in their favor. They first met when they were both children on the south side of San Antonio, Texas. My future mom was about four years old. She had a small wagon that my future dad and his friends wanted to use. My grandmother told them they could use the wagon only if they took Mom around in it. They agreed, but then they “accidently” tipped it over, and Mom ran home crying. They met again years later when Dad drove up to a gas station for a fill-up. Mom was working at the station pumping gas; her father owned the place. Dad asked her out.

They eloped and started their lives with very little. Mom did not know how to cook. She made Dad pork chops and potatoes the first night she cooked for him. He said he liked it so she cooked it again three more nights. On that fourth night he asked whether she could cook something else. She ran outside crying because she didn’t know how to cook anything else. Now, Mom is the best cook I know. Many in our family would agree. I’ve taken CPP colleagues over to my parents’ house when I’ve been in San Antonio for work. They have loved Mom’s cooking too!

So here we are on my parents’ 60th wedding anniversary. This is a big deal, but not surprising if you know my parents. They teach me what love is every time I am with them. All my life I have watched and learned from my parents. They are both very kind and very gentle with each other. As kids we never heard them screaming and shouting at each other or at any of us. They have always been very calm and respectful, which has helped me understand the right way to treat those I love, those with whom I work, and anyone else.

If you want to read more about my Hawaiian family vacation, check out the previous blogs in this series:

 

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