Tonight, we celebrated my brother and sister-in-law's 10th wedding anniversary with old friends at the home of one of my brother's best friends from high school. It was a fabulous party, especially considering that the host is the catering director for a local upscale catering spot and organized a delicious array of speciality foods as well as a beautiful flower arrangement for the centerpiece and "reservations" at her own comfortable home for all of us to enjoy the feast. And the "awesomeness" didn't stop there, as my mom had arranged a special guest to stop by and sing the Hawaiian Wedding Song to the lucky couple. This guest was the youth pastor at our family's church when my brother was a teenager there, and now he sings full time for a living, so that was a real treat!
It was good to catch up with old friends who we used to spend a lot of time with growing up, and it's amazing to think how we were the age of our kids running around the host's house tonight while our parents chatted and played cards not that long ago. Now, we are the parents and adults, and it's difficult for me to imagine my own kids being in that same situation a few more years down the road. The neatest part for me was when the guest asked my brother and sister in law to share the story of their engagement, wedding ceremony, and how they feel about each other still today. When he asked them whether or not they still felt like newlyweds 10 years later, my brother did not hesitant to respond "yes, most days we do." Everyone has challenging days, but to be able to say they mostly still feel like newlyweds in this day and and age a decade into marriage is truly a blessing. The thing is I would never have expected anything different from the two of them because they are so obviously meant to be and made for each other in every sense of the word. There's not many people you can say that about right from the start, but they are part of the lucky few. Even though they dated about 3 years before getting married, they said they both knew early on they would be together forever, so to speak. That's how I feel about my fiance as well. We both took the long route to get to each other and had to go through our share of difficult experiences along the way, but it's worth it to know I waited and struggled through those times in order to be ready for the special bond and relationship I now have with my sweetheart. I feel certain my brother and his wife didn't mind the wait either since it brought them to each other.
All the romantic, ideal love cliches really ring true for me, and I am still amazed quite often that he would choose me. I'm thankful for that and for what my brother and sister in law have. It's so wonderful to see two people so content with each other and living life to the fullest together. It just proves that those 50 year marriages are still possible. It's just people jumping into and out of marriage too easily that has changed the statistics. Love itself is no different. Relationships are no tougher. We have simply become the "microwave" generation, expecting everything to happen and sort itself out "in less than 5 minutes," and we are not willing to wait for the "gourmet" dish of a relationship that we could have if we weren't in such a rush to be satisfied right away. It's sad really, but it's all too true. We all make mistakes now and again, but hopefully we learn form them and start fresh, making better choices the next time around, not settling for less or taking the easy way out because it seems quicker and less painful. My brother and sister-in-law's willingness to wait it out for the right relationship and then commit to it for the long run is something to be admired, and my hats off to them. And with that I'll say "Happy Anniversary and wishing you 10+ more honeymoon years to come!"
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