48...and Counting!
48 years! That's how long we've been married...tomorrow. That's a big number which represents nearly three-quarters of our lives. And yet it's all gone by in a hurry. Seems only a few short years ago that we took the plunge.
It probably helps that we got an early start on our lives together. We were both 19 when we got married. The odds were definitely against us. Neither of us had a real vision for the life we wanted or the maturity to carry on for the long haul, but we learned as we went, not without some troubled times, but we still survived them. I'm sure there might have been some side bets on how long our marriage would last, but I'm pretty sure none of them were forever, or even half as long as we've lasted.
Even scientific data says this was not a good union. We were both first-borns, which means we are both bossy, opiniated and feel the need to be in charge...and I will have to admit that most of the problems we've had come from this characteristic in each of us. It probably helps that one of us is less stubborn than the other which made it possible to compromise. I'll let you speculate on which is the least stubborn. We don't exactly see eye to eye on this matter!
I always like to hear how couples met and formed a relationship that led to marriage. Our story was pretty common, we began dating in high school during my senior year, his junior year. We had known each other for years, we don't even remember when we didn't know each other. In fact, Mike's mother recalls running into my mother in town when we were both just a few months old. She always mentioned how Mike was such a skinny little baby and I was such a fat little baby, something I never overcame. So even though we knew each other, we didn't know each other well.
We had gone to high school together for three years, and still didn't really like one another. I thought he was a smart aleck and he thought I was stuck up! Turns out that neither one is really true deep down, it's just our cover story when we don't know people well. (We are still that way and probably need to overcome!)
Halfway through my senior year my schedule was changed so that I ended up in a study hall sitting right behind an old boyfriend. And this old boyfriend sat right beside Mike. It was probably not a true study hall as no study was ever done there, we just hung around in a place that kept us out of trouble for an hour. So Mike and Old Boyfriend spent the last semester of that study hall turned around talking to me. First of all, I wished Mike would just go away so that I could flirt with Old Boyfriend, but eventually I came to enjoy his company more than my old flame's. It took clear to the end of the school year before he asked me out, but I have to say the rest is history.
We are still laughing about our first date. He asked me to go to a drive-in movie at the outdoor theater near Long Pine. I had just graduated, and as a gift to seniors, the theater was giving free admission to seniors. I knew this but hadn't really thought too much of it, but he was horrified to find out that he had chosen a night for our first date that made him look cheap. We laughed and I made him buy me plenty of food so that he could spend money on me and not feel so cheap.
We dated for the next year while he finished his last year of high school and I went to business school. We were engaged by Christmas of this year and had a June wedding. And lived happily ever after....sort of. We agree that there have been way more happy times than unhappy. And it probably doesn't hurt that we basically finished growing up together which allowed us to grow in the same direction.
So after 48 years together, we have a lot to show for it. Nothing great in the way of financial security or material gain, but we have been abundantly blessed with happiness, health and a wonderful family of four kids that have grown into a lot of kids, in-laws and grandkids. In fact we are so blessed that it's nearly impossible to have them all together in one place unless we rent a good-sized meeting room. And I can't think of a greater blessing.
I think back to all the years of raising kids and milking cows and all the busyness and chaos that went with that. I cherish those memories but have to say I am glad to be where we are now...just the two of us running down on energy and drive to do much but so happy to be doing it together. We both enjoy an evening on the couch binge-watching something on Hulu. We are thankful that we still have one another as more and more of our friends are finding themselves alone after losing their spouse.
And we are so thankful that God gave us the grace to make it 48 years...and counting!!
It probably helps that we got an early start on our lives together. We were both 19 when we got married. The odds were definitely against us. Neither of us had a real vision for the life we wanted or the maturity to carry on for the long haul, but we learned as we went, not without some troubled times, but we still survived them. I'm sure there might have been some side bets on how long our marriage would last, but I'm pretty sure none of them were forever, or even half as long as we've lasted.
Even scientific data says this was not a good union. We were both first-borns, which means we are both bossy, opiniated and feel the need to be in charge...and I will have to admit that most of the problems we've had come from this characteristic in each of us. It probably helps that one of us is less stubborn than the other which made it possible to compromise. I'll let you speculate on which is the least stubborn. We don't exactly see eye to eye on this matter!
I always like to hear how couples met and formed a relationship that led to marriage. Our story was pretty common, we began dating in high school during my senior year, his junior year. We had known each other for years, we don't even remember when we didn't know each other. In fact, Mike's mother recalls running into my mother in town when we were both just a few months old. She always mentioned how Mike was such a skinny little baby and I was such a fat little baby, something I never overcame. So even though we knew each other, we didn't know each other well.
We had gone to high school together for three years, and still didn't really like one another. I thought he was a smart aleck and he thought I was stuck up! Turns out that neither one is really true deep down, it's just our cover story when we don't know people well. (We are still that way and probably need to overcome!)
Halfway through my senior year my schedule was changed so that I ended up in a study hall sitting right behind an old boyfriend. And this old boyfriend sat right beside Mike. It was probably not a true study hall as no study was ever done there, we just hung around in a place that kept us out of trouble for an hour. So Mike and Old Boyfriend spent the last semester of that study hall turned around talking to me. First of all, I wished Mike would just go away so that I could flirt with Old Boyfriend, but eventually I came to enjoy his company more than my old flame's. It took clear to the end of the school year before he asked me out, but I have to say the rest is history.
We are still laughing about our first date. He asked me to go to a drive-in movie at the outdoor theater near Long Pine. I had just graduated, and as a gift to seniors, the theater was giving free admission to seniors. I knew this but hadn't really thought too much of it, but he was horrified to find out that he had chosen a night for our first date that made him look cheap. We laughed and I made him buy me plenty of food so that he could spend money on me and not feel so cheap.
We dated for the next year while he finished his last year of high school and I went to business school. We were engaged by Christmas of this year and had a June wedding. And lived happily ever after....sort of. We agree that there have been way more happy times than unhappy. And it probably doesn't hurt that we basically finished growing up together which allowed us to grow in the same direction.
So after 48 years together, we have a lot to show for it. Nothing great in the way of financial security or material gain, but we have been abundantly blessed with happiness, health and a wonderful family of four kids that have grown into a lot of kids, in-laws and grandkids. In fact we are so blessed that it's nearly impossible to have them all together in one place unless we rent a good-sized meeting room. And I can't think of a greater blessing.
I think back to all the years of raising kids and milking cows and all the busyness and chaos that went with that. I cherish those memories but have to say I am glad to be where we are now...just the two of us running down on energy and drive to do much but so happy to be doing it together. We both enjoy an evening on the couch binge-watching something on Hulu. We are thankful that we still have one another as more and more of our friends are finding themselves alone after losing their spouse.
And we are so thankful that God gave us the grace to make it 48 years...and counting!!
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