On February 6, my parents will be celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. It’s a pretty big one, if you ask me, hence why I’m writing a post about it; I think 40 years of a lot of things are worthy of recognition, but especially marriage.
I think it’s safe to say I’m a bit biased considering this is my mom and dad we’re discussing, but that’s okay.
I absolutely commend my parents for being married for 40 years. It’s a tremendous accomplishment, if you ask me, and further, it is one that is worthy of celebration.
My mom was 22 when she married my dad, and he was 24. My dad asked my mom to be his wife after roughly one year of dating, and after one year of being engaged, they tied the knot.
They waited a while before having my sister and then me, and I commend them for it. They were odd-balls for doing so, because back in the 80s it was almost expected to conceive a child as quickly as possible after marriage, but they had other things they wanted to accomplish and experience before bringing a child into the world, and I have a lot of respect for them in this decision.
Both of my parents have had serious health scares; my mom is a two-time breast cancer survivor, and my dad beat eye cancer (more specifically, melanoma in his eye). There’s been plenty of other shit hurled at our family in addition to these unfortunate events, but my mom and dad never allowed themselves to show weakness or fear with their ailments while my sister and I were still young. I believe the hardships our family has overcome have strengthened their marriage, and I think 40 years of it proves this belief.
Happy 40th anniversary, mom and dad. Here’s to 40 more.
ontheedgeofeverything 