Married for 60 Years

For the first time in a while, I feel like I don't have much to say!

To risk going much more than a week without a post, I'll share a little something about my weekend. We traveled up to Holland, Michigan, for my grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary.

Did you catch that? SIXTY years! That's more than twice as long as I've been alive. They've been married for about three-quarters of their lives! Celebrating this momentous occasion with them was a true pleasure. My grandparents are [most of the time] a beacon for long-lasting love, vigor and generosity — and they have created quite the family (5 children, 12 grandchildren, four great grandchildren — plus step grandchildren and in-laws they've taken in along the way).

If I were to guess some of the things that have made my grandparents' marriage so long-lasting, here's what I'd share:

• Mutual interests: in their case, this means Green Bay Packers football games, family get-togethers, a game of cribbage a day, bridge gatherings with friends and traveling (Vegas and to visit family, etc.).
• Some separate hobbies and dedications: for my grandfather, it's stamp collecting, the Escanaba quarterback club, Kiwanis (to name a few) and the Methodist church; my grandmother is the cook, shopper (groceries and gifts) — and she's very active in her Catholic church community.
• A focus on growing and change (but growing and changing together): through multiple professions, good times and hard times, they have been a team.
• Commitment to family: not a birthday, Christmas or anniversary goes by without hearing from my grandparents. And they have a lot of people to keep up with! I would think they take the same celebratory approach to each other and their relationship together.
• A little bit of good old-fashioned bickering (who doesn't feel a little better after venting a bit to his or her spouse as long as it's all in the name of love?). 

My grandparents, celebrating 60 years of marriage (craziness!)

For the celebration, my Aunt Janet wore my grandmother's wedding dress (because my grandmother is Catholic and my grandfather isn't, they got married in the rectory — so she decided not to wear white)

Cheers to the people who teach us what love is about.

— Katy