We’ve got something special for you today BMWK family. A guest post by fellow blogger Jelisa who blogs over at …And They Lived Blogging Ever After. If you like what you see here please take a second to visit her site. I think you’ll enjoy what you find.
This morning, the first thing I said to Galen when he opened his eyes was,
“Let’s try to live until we’re at least 94, “˜kay? Because then we’ll have been married for 70 years.”
He gave me one of those “my wife’s a weirdo” / “sure, why not?” chuckles before answering “okay” and drifting back off to sleep.
But I was serious! 🙂
For some reason, I’d woken up with this amazing couple on my mind:
How inspiring is that?
It took me back to the first time I got bitten by the crazy-long marriage bug; it was a few years ago, and Galen and I were still just courting and talking marriage. I must’ve been doing something right, {hehe}, because he took me to meet his family’s oldest, dearest relatives ““ his grandmother’s 92-year-old twin sister, Auntie Irma, and her husband, Uncle Tim.
Who were married over 70 years.
As I sat there on their cute little slip-covered couch politely sipping one of Auntie Irma’s famous daiquiris {I’m not a big drinker, and her daiquiris are STRONG!}, I sat there wondering if my head was spinning from the daiquiri, or from all the history I was surrounded by.
I was sitting in the home of my then-boyfriend {who I absolutely planned to marry}’s 92-year-old Aunt, the identical twin sister of his grandmother, whom he loved and respected dearly”…in the same house Uncle Tim had built for Auntie Irma with his bare hands as he was courting her; the same house they’d spent their entire lives together, loving and living and overcoming in.
I was sitting on the same couch that was in the old photos I was staring at on Auntie Irma’s side table”…photos in which my future mother-in-law smiled in her 70s mini-dresses and Galen was a little boy sitting on his grandpa’s lap. I saw pictures of Irma and Elma {Galen’s sweet grandmother, who I myself came to love and admire before her passing} as identical little girls, their hair in identical bows”…and then as young women, with their gorgeous faces, about to marry the men with whom they’d spend their lives until death. There were photos of all the family members Galen had once told me stories about, and of Auntie Irma and Uncle Tim as newlyweds”…over 70 years ago.
It was beautiful.
I hope to evoke that same beauty when someone stares at the history Galen and I have made together over the years”…especially if we do make it to 70 {or more!}!
Our birthdays are a week apart, and our anniversary is about a month after our birthdays, so”…I figure we can make it. 😉
“”””””
Dont’ forget to take a look at Jelisa’s spot. You can do so by clicking here.
That’s sweet and you’re not a weirdo at all!
I just stumbled upon a never-before-seen wedding photo of my grandparents. This is back in the late 1940s and it was beautiful to see how they looked at each other, how young they both looked, and how my great-grandparents were beaming with pride. Longevity is a GREAT thing. 🙂
.-= Tara @ The Young Mommy Life´s last blog ..Giveaway: Sades Soldier of Love =-.
This was a sweet article! I’m with Tara…you’re not a weirdo at all! Thinking about longevity rather than bills/concerns first thing in the morning is a perfectly healthy and joyous thing! Thanks for the article! I agree wholeheartedly!
.-= Harriet´s last blog ..Paradise =-.
I was married for 25 years and most of it was great. After 15 years in the marriage we started to grew apart. But God allowed me to forgive my exhusband and myself. We became bestfriend. I understand when people are mad at each other and they vioce their personal feeling to the world; its not cool. I beleive that Blacks can have great marriages, sucessful, healthy and loving ones. My parents, grand parent and great grand parent were married for over 75 years. I know there are Black marriage that are sucessful because it takes a real MAN and WOMAN to maintain a marriage, anything else is a game that you are playing with a persons LIFE and GOD.
I have to say, I see why my son adores you! I do too. What a beautiful moment to share, bringing up such wonderulf ideas (and the fact that you were going to be my daughter-in-love even way back when)! I’m praying and rooting for your two to carry on the tradition of our family elders. Live to be 94 and beyond so you tuck away a minimum of 70 years.
Love you so much,
MOM2
Aww, Jelisa, you always make me cry lol.
And I’m so not the crying type.
Your blogs are beautiful, keep posting them.
And it is so excitingg, because their “published” lol.
Awww, thanks, guys! 🙂
.-= {JeLisa} @ Blogging Ever After´s last blog ..Does it count as a date if your husband says you look like a bum? =-.
Well I as your Mother, am always in ahh of the beauty of your thoughts and as to how you put them together on paper. I always wanted to be married forever….your dad and I used to talk of being old and grey head together, unfortunately because of circumstances out of my control, our time together was 13 years…married for 11 and a half of that. I can see how sitting with a couple who had so many years together would make you dream of many years with Galen. Hold on to your friendship, respect and admiration for each other and it can be done. I believe in you two. Continue to date and communicate and youll be fine. I’ll be there too at 105 years of age.lol.. Stay healthy, love you soooo much Jee. Mommie
That is beautiful JLa. Keep God first and He’ll preserve your union. Love ya and Galen too!
P. S. uummmmmmm Skype date…walking away now
What a beautiful post along with the comments. Being called a “weirdo” is not a bad thing. It just means we think deep, and love and appreciate what surrounds us. I too want to grow old and grey with my husband. So far as we got older and one of us is grey(I won’t say which one of us), but to have one more year of marriage is a blessing, to get to the threshold of multi decades of marriage is truly a amazing adventure. I love stories like this because I am a true hopeless romantic.
?
Thanks again, everyone! 🙂
Love you, Mom and Mel!
.-= {JeLisa} @ Blogging Ever After´s last blog ..Marriage Perk #224: The Family You Gain =-.