Love That Lasts

Today my mom's oldest brother Melvin and his wife Dorothy are celebrating their 65th wedding anniversary!  Whew, that's a lot of years. 

That's my mom on the far left!  They were even close then!

And they are both vibrant, happy, and wonderful people still eager to enjoy all they can out of life.  I am blessed to see them on our trips home to California as they live across the street from my mom and dad.  Pretty great that siblings who are 89 and almost 81 end up across the street from one another after all these years!  My mom and her brother are the only immediate family members living from their family.  And even though Mel was the oldest and mom the youngest, they have always been close.  Mel and Dorothy had three sons and my mom was the consummate cool aunt in the years before she and my dad were married.  Here she is with the three boys playing basketball.  She was likely a better player than any of them!  My cousins are quite a bit older than I am so we didn't see a lot of one another on our visits to Galesburg, Illinios from California.  They were out of school, serving in the military or doing whatever they were doing when I was 10 years old and they were in their late teens, early 20's.  But all of the boys moved to California along the way and so our relationships were renewed.  My cousin Mike and I are kind of the resident democrats in the family as well so we have to stick together!  Eventually Mel and Dorothy decided to give up the cold midwestern winters and moved to California as well.  After three moves, they have landed across the street from my folks in beautiful Sahara Park!Love that lasts 65 years is pretty amazing.  I'm sure they've had their ups and downs but I have always loved spending time with them.  I remember as a kid getting  birthday cards from them with a quarter taped to the card and a little note that said, 'Enjoy a coke!"  I loved the thoughtfulness.  And now we always look forward to dropping in on them when we're out visiting.  They always have ice cream in the freezer and it's just fun being around them.  They helped me with my parents 50th wedding anniversary party.  I could not have done it without them.  And the summer my mom was really sick, they provided me with moral support and surrounded us with great love.  I still love playing Bingo on Tuesday nights with my aunt.
The novel I just read said this of marriage: "One must find variety in repetition to have a long and enjoyable marriage."  I believe that.  So much of life is just day in and day out living.  You better enjoy the mundane together.  But every once in awhile there is a big reason to celebrate and well, 65 years of marriage is certainly big enough.
Happy Anniversary Mel and Dot.  We love you and wish you many more years of happiness together!