29 Years

Today is my parents 29th wedding anniversary. In this day and age, that's a huge deal. I never really thought so, though, until I started telling friends how long they were married around their 25th anniversary, and they thought that was so cool. After all, a majority of the families I know have gone through a divorce and a remarriage or two. The depressing statistics show us that half of marriages end in divorce, which really makes he idea of marriage even more terrifying than it already is. Committing yourself to one person forever is one thing, but then the fact that there is 50% chance that that marriage is going to fail...that doesn't give a lot of hope.

Throughout the 29 years that my parents have been married, it hasn't been all cutesy poo moments and rays of sunshine. There were a lot of fights in our house, there still are. There were even tiny moments of my childhood when I didn't understand why they didn't just get a divorce like some of my friends' parents did...it just seemed easier.

That's the thing is though...divorce is the easy out. If there is one thing my parents are, they are fighters, and they do not take the easy roads. Unless, of course the GPS tells them to, then they have to...just ask my dad.

Something that I noticed in my parents is that they are a team, they are partners. For 29 years they have supported each other through thick and thin. It wasn't always how such relations are portrayed on television, in a dramatic fashion, but they support each other and my brother and I in subtle ways. As a family we all had each others backs, because that's how my parents raised us.
My mother taught us to appreciate how hard our dad worked to support us. My father taught us to listen to my mom...because to this day, she is always right. Seriously.

They raised us to believe in a God who forgives, and loves. They raised us to appreciate everything we own. They raised us to know that grades weren't everything, that having fun was more than allowed.

The way I see family is a support system. A team. That's what my family is, and I was blessed with the best captains. They're flawed, and they don't make excuses for that. But they're partners, and they have never given up on each other or my brother and me.
Considering its all I've known, I'm not really sure how else a family successfully runs. I just know I wouldn't have it any other way.

Here's to 29 more years together, Mom and Dad.


- Candidly Catherine