Many years ago, Dad had a friend, "Cheetah," who moved to the next town over and became friends with Mom. In adulthood, Mom would arrange a date for Cheetah when he would find a double date for her. After a family get-together in 1981, Cheetah was bored and moved up a planned date for that Thanksgiving Day. Dale met Alice.
Dale proposed in February, and they were married in August. After nine moves in two states, five kids and a quasi-daughter, one miscarriage, numerous jobs and church callings, hundreds of campouts, a masters degree, one self-built observatory, four deceased parents, one grandkid with another on the way, and countless removed rocks, chore charts, and weeds pulled, Alice and Dale celebrate 33 years of marriage.
I've seen Dad kneeling to pray at the foot of the bed, Mom staying up to do the dishes, the two of them at the table going over taxes and budgets, Mom and then Dad standing at the church podium to give talks, our family sitting together to read scriptures three verses at a time, flowers on the countertop to celebrate anniversaries, and the infamous "gunny bag" held by one and enforced by the other to take away toys we kids neglected to put away after numerous warnings. We are a family of shouters, clenched teeth, door slammers, and incidents remembered, but my parents work together. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for your example of a strong, everlasting marriage, improving every year.
This is sweet :)
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