Saturday, July 15, 2017

In Praise of Anniversaries

2017-07-15
Guest post by Suzann Darnall

Today is my parents’ 60th wedding anniversary. Next month my husband and I will celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary. Most of my grandparents and great-grandparents had long marriages, or at least marriages that lasted until one of them passed away. Anniversaries are the birthdays of marriages and we like everything to live long and prosper!

My parents like to mark their milestone anniversaries with big parties. Lots of family, friends, food, and fun. They cherish one another and want the world to know about their love.

My husband and I are more private about our anniversary celebrations. We mark the occasions, but usually just between the two of us.

I think either option is fine, so long as one acknowledges the date. To ignore the date is like saying it was an unimportant event. I feel one needs to pay tribute to special people and happenings. Let someone know they are special by honoring particular events in your life and theirs.

I always try to do something a little special for the anniversary of the day Pete and I met, as well as the day we got married. I want Pete to always know I consider him one of the most important parts of my life. I want him to know I really do remember the first time I saw him. The first time we met. The first time we spoke. That it really was about as close to love at first sight as I can imagine. It certainly was infatuation at first meeting!

While we do not always do extravagant for anniversaries, we do try to do something. Sometimes gifts are personal, sometimes not. Occasionally there is a big ticket item we want or need, so we decide that will be our gift to one another. At other times there is a small something that one or the other of us requests as that year’s token of love. But, big, small, household, or personal, it is the thought that counts when we give to one another.

Same thing for our dinners or whatever direction our celebration takes. Sometimes I fix us something special at home. Usually we go out for dinner at a favorite restaurant. Occasionally our children have treated us to a home-cooked meal or joined us on a family celebratory outing. Again, it is the thought, as well as the togetherness, that counts. The details are just that, details. Not the main point of it all.

So, whether you have a first anniversary coming up or a milestone like 25, maybe even 50, years together, I encourage y’all to mark it with your loved one or loved ones. A wedding is the birth of a living union. It should be celebrated and encouraged to thrive. Just like a plant withers without water and sunlight, so a marriage can wither without love and friendship!

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