Two weeks ago today, on August 10, my parents celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary.  Anniversaries are generally private in our family, with couples doing something by themselves.  When Mom and Dad had their 50th wedding anniversary, the entire extended family spent a long weekend at Lakeside, Ohio to celebrate.  Mom and Dad aren’t up to that much partying anymore, so this celebration was smaller.

Mom and Dad, after a lot of discussion, decided to have a small dinner party.  Wedgewood Estates, where they live, has a special dining room and provides a fancy meal for up to eight people.  Mom and Dad invited Tom and me, my brother Steve and his wife Kathy, and my sister Julia with her husband Mike.  Steve, Julia, and Mike all took the day off work so they could come.

We gathered in the dining room and were served a delicious dinner that Mom and Dad picked out.  We started with salad and warm rolls.  Then we had chicken cordon bleu with a baked potato and corn.  The meal concluded with a special chocolate cake that said “Happy Anniversary” on top.  All of the staff came in and sang their anniversary song.

It was nice to have a dining room to ourselves.  The staff were very attentive to Mom and Dad, which we all appreciated.  We were able to relax and enjoy catching up with each other.  Julia and I sat next to each other.  When we were served the salads, both of us started picking off the onions, walnuts, and cheese.  Neither of us ate our salad until all those items were removed.  Yes, we are sisters!

Julia and Mike just got a rescue puppy, so they entertained us with stories about trying to get Milo trained.  Because he spent most of his first six months in a cage, Milo is tentative about trying most things.  He is just happy to hang out with Julia and Mike.  But, because he is 63 pounds at only six months, they are also working on training him right.

After our delicious meal, we returned to Mom and Dad’s condo.  When we got back to the condo, the maintenance team at Wedgewood Estates was removing a tree that had fallen in the pond in June.  The pond is directly behind Mom and Dad’s condo and the tree was being removed through their yard.  Mom and Dad immediately forgot about the party and settled down in the backyard to watch.  Tom and I explained that this was a big event at Wedgewood Estates and, of course, we had to watch.  The others weren’t sure they could stand the excitement.

Once the tree was removed, while we were outside, we took a few pictures.  Tom took the photo of Mom and Dad with us three kids.  We joked about Steve always having to be in the middle.  Tom also wanted us all to stare at some pine cones in the tree.  He thinks it is funny when everyone in a picture is looking at something.  We all spend a lot of time laughing when we are together.

After the tree was removed (they were mostly done when we got back), we returned inside to continue the 65th wedding anniversary celebration.  We all had cards for Mom and Dad which they enjoyed opening.  Then Julia and Mike had to head back home to their puppy.  The rest of us stayed for a rousing game of Dominoes.  Appropriately, Dad won and Mom came in just a couple of points ahead of him, for a very close second.

At that point, Mom and Dad were ready for some quiet time, so the rest of us took our leave.  It was a wonderful time together.

I am so very thankful to have my parents around, still in love with each other, and a shining example of loving God.  Their faithfulness is an inspiration to so many.  Supposedly, the traditional symbol of 65 years together is a blue sapphire.  It is supposed to symbolize loyalty, peace, fulfilled dreams, and prosperity.  My parents’ marriage has all those things.  We are blessed by every day and every year we get to spend with them.