Sixty Years

Husband and I are going out of town for a celebration that has been sixty years in the making: my grandparents’ 60th wedding anniversary! I’m so glad that my family organized this party for them. Sixty years of marriage is certainly something to celebrate. But more than that, they are such amazing and hard-working people, and the least we can do is take one day to honor them. They lead a simple life, and they hardly ever spend money on themselves. They still have a rotary phone and a clothesline to dry clothes. They do not have air conditioning, cable TV, a computer, a dishwasher, an answering machine, or even a shower (just a bathtub). My grandfather will wear his shoes until they are literally being held together by duct tape, yet they will not hesitate to leave a generous tip for a waitress, the barber, or even the maid at a hotel. They are the most generous people I know. They have spent their life working on their farm. Even at their advanced age, they still work every day and sell hay. They also sell blueberries, raspberries, and other produce. (Although I don’t think they make much money from selling produce because they choose to give most of it away to their friends and neighbors.) They are active in the community, and they even started a scholarship fund in memory of a deceased family member. But they would never tell you about it or take credit for it because they are very humble people. I don’t know their secret to their long marriage, but I do know that our family – and our world – is much better because of their example.