41 years

My parents celebrate 41 years of marriage this week.

Growing up I remember watching how difficult it was for friends with divorced parents, it wasn’t the norm at the time. At some point the tables turned and I became the odd person out because my parents were still married. Funny how things change.

My parents are best friends. It is borderline nutty how madly in love my dad still is with my mom. He still calls her if he’s out and asks if he can pick anything up for her. He still makes coffee and good breakfasts. He listens. He gives her space. And she does the same for him.

When I was 21, I remember going through a really rough time with a guy I was dating. I thought he had potential but what did I know, he was my first “serious serious” boyfriend. In hindsight I was seriously delusional. But I was finally at that age where the juicy family stories begin to be shared and I remember my dad’s roundabout way of providing advice. He said:

You know, there was a time when it would have been easy to leave. But my life wouldn’t be half as fun without your mom and I chose to work through any problems we had.

I'm not sure that's verbatim but that’s the day I knew I was screwed forever. I knew from that point on I could never settle for less than someone willing to fight for me without being asked. It’s also the day I should have broken up with my boyfriend but that would happen soon enough.

My parents are a team. They have celebrated immense highs and suffered extreme lows and like any great team, they have a story about how it all began. I won’t give it away but it starts like this:

She was a foreign exchange student. He had never met anyone like her…