So many kids, I don't know what to do.



Thursday, April 21, 2011

Jack Spratt and His Wife

My parents are fairly youngish and healthy.  They will be 64 this summer.  My mom's birthday is one day before Dad's.  He walks around the whole day calling her a "crotchety old broad."

Saturday is my parents 46th wedding anniversary.  Wow.  That is a long time.  They got married when they were 17.   I can't even imagine. (Do those figures add up to 64? or somewhere close.)

Even though my parents fought from time to time and had struggles just like everyone else I mostly remember my dad coming home from work every night and giving my mom a kiss in the kitchen.

My parents still do a lot of cute things.  My dad can't figure out why my mom doesn't laugh at the same jokes he has been telling for 47 years!!
A few years ago my dad learned to use the on-line banking service his bank provides.  Mainly he uses it to find my mom.  If I were to call him and ask him if he knew her plans for the day he would access his account and look up the last place she used the ATM card.
They went to a Halloween party last year.  My dad insisted he go as a bottle of Crown Royal.  My mom as 7-Up.  (My mom made the costume.)
My mom perfects her garden one square foot a day (sometimes to my dad's chagrin.) 

Here is the most "entertaining" aspect of their relationship.
My dad has lost  most of his hearing during years of driving a truck and hunting.  He wears hearing aids.  I don't know how well they work when my family is NOT around, but when my family is around they amplify background noise almost as much as anything else making it very difficult for him to hear.  The same is true for restaurants and other crowded places or places where there is background music.

My mom has lupus and congestive heart failure.  Her immune system seems to have attacked her lungs.  She always has problems breathing. Sometimes those problems are slight and sometimes breathing is a major effort.

Jack Spratt could eat no fat, his wife could eat no lean.

They remind me of that poem.  My dad can't hear and my mom can't talk loudly.  So sometimes at the house my mom will say something like, "Would you please take out the trash?"  and my dad will go get a roll of paper towels. Neither one of them ever seems to realize how ironic this combination is.

The modern gift for the 46th year of marriage is poetry.  I think instead I am going to get them some sign language lessons!!  (My dad looks up the anniversary gift every year.  His favorite I think was year 44 - groceries!)

In all seriousness though my parents may not realize it , but they gave me a great gift.   They gave me the security of knowing they would always be there.  Except for the usual childhood phase of divorce paranoia I didn't worry too much about them not being together.  They have loved each other for 46 years.  It wasn't luck, it wasn't magic, and it wasn't fate.  It was hard work.  

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

7 comments:

  1. That is a great tribute to your parents. Happy Anniversary to them!

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  2. I love this. Especially now - when I'm watching my Father-in-Law grieve as his wife of 62 years fights brain cancer.

    What a precious and priceless thing - to have a love that lasts a lifetime and to model that for your kids and your grandkids. I love your last part - "it wasn't fate, it was hard work".

    They have a new line of hearing aids out - that are getting better and better at cutting background noise and focusing on voices. And I would be more than happy to help in the sign language department :)

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  3. What a great post. And really sweet. What a neat idea for an anniversary present.

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  4. It sounds like they have an amazing marriage.

    I want to borrow their Halloween costumes for Hubs and I.

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  5. What a SWEET post. I really love how we "grow into" each other like a comfy pair of jeans, don't you? That's what a good marriage is like. A comfy pair of jeans may not look as good as a brand new pair, but nothing beats the comfort and feel of that worn-in fabric that knows every part of you - when to bend and how to support. I love that.

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  6. Great post. I loved reading it. My parents have been together for 36 years and I agree - it's such a comfort to me to know they will always be there. They're great examples to me.

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I always like to know someone is listening!