August 22, 2020: 50

Today is a very special day; it is my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. So instead of talking about the Cubs & Sox, we’re going to dedicate this one to them; the toast at their 50th wedding anniversary dinner. Enjoy!

Celebrating your wedding anniversary has always been easy; it is a day that I can never forgot.  It is always a happy time of the year, a time to reflect back & to look ahead.  This year is different, probably more different than any of us would like.  But in this case, the day of your anniversary, it is a GOOD kind of different.  There is no amount of words that I can write, no magic speech that I can say, that would really capture the feelings of gratitude, appreciation, and pride that I feel on this day.  You are celebrating 50 years together!!!

50 years?!?!  I cannot begin to tell you how 50 years feels.  I haven’t even been alive that long, let alone spend that many years with one person; that’s insane!  I don’t know how you did it, but I’m glad you did.  To sit back at the end of the day, and know that it is all worth it, is a very special feeling.

I could go into the history that we know… how you were introduced to each other, the long rides to see each other, the years in Virginia, the time spent apart from each other in the Navy years, moving back to Chicago, the wedding, and all the ups and downs in between.  Those years, the first five plus years of your married life, were the “easy years” right?  Well, we all know nothing is easy…  But when you decided to start a family, and when this new member interrupted your celebration dinner plans, and arrived exactly on your 6^th anniversary, the game changed.  It was all downhill from there…

Yes, but you didn’t stop at one; you added another boy 2.5 years later, and then finally that girl a year after that, to round out the “party of five”.  It was this nuclear family that I would be blessed to be a part of.  It was during this part of your time together where your love and sacrifices made all the difference.  Raising a family is no easy task, yet you guys mastered it.  Sure, nobody is perfect, but when I look back at those years, many fond memories come rushing back.  No matter how many brain cells I have killed over the years, nothing can erase that time in my life.  Now, with a family of my own, these memories seem to multiply; there are more of them still I know, that will resurface.  I cannot thank you enough for that; I will never be able to.

And then your kids grew up and tried to navigate this thing called life; I think we’ve done pretty good.  Drawing on all the love that was shown to us growing up, all the morals instilled in us, and the solid foundation that you provided, surely has helped along the way.  And although we’ve grown up, we haven’t grown apart; although you’ve raised us, your jobs are not done yet; a parent’s job is never done.  Yes, we still need your love and support; I know we have it.  Now we ask you to share that same love and support with our spouses and our children; that never-ending task of a parent, and now grandparent, keeps going.  Expanding the party of five to a party of seventeen?  Yep, that’s right; 17!!!  How about that?  And that’s not counting the pets!!!

I can stand up here and talk all day, but nobody wants that, right?  Haha…  Yes, but for all that you have given to us, all that you have done for us, you deserve the very best back.  Today is just one small token of appreciation; how do you truly appreciate 50 years?  50 more?  Well, I know we’ll all continue to try to be our very best, with our spouses and our families, just as you have been with each other, just as you have been with us.  We will navigate through all the ups and downs of life because you showed us how.  We will try to be the type of husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, and eventually, long time from now, grandfathers and grandmothers that hopefully will make you as proud of us as we are of you… today, the 50^th anniversary of your wedding day, and every day.  Thank you so much for everything and Congratulations!  We love you.  Cheers!