On 50th Anniversaries

Last week would have been my 50th wedding anniversary. I made it halfway, divorcing after 25 years. Still, a lot.

Now it’s a simple observance: “Oh yeah, this would be 50 years.” Yet I wonder if anyone who enters into marriage with any serious intent ever really forgets?

So I’ll reminiscence for a moment. Age 20 and starry eyed. Ballet slippers and perfect dress. Eight excited bridesmaids. My daddy in tails. One handsome groom. Would that the marriage had been that idyllic.

I know some divorced couples who say they get along better now than when they were married – sharing holidays and taking vacations together. Others are openly hostile; some have a quiet truce. I wonder: Who can really forget? The shared birth of a child. Buying a first house. Raising a litter of puppies.

Maybe it’s an easier trade-off to wipe away those memories in order to lose the ones that hurt too bad. I don’t know.

To those couples who actually make it to fifty years, CONGRATULATIONS! And congratulations also to those who found their separate paths.