Honestly, fifty years? The toast for fifty years is maybe: Fifty years? Holy shit.
But fifty years with my father? That is an especially ridiculous proposition.
He's cranky and stubborn and picky and finicky and surly.
Fifty years with my mother, though, is likewise a preposterous notion.
There was never a woman who knows, less often, where her glasses are. Or her keys. Or her backpack or her wallet or a pen. Not a specific pen, just any pen.
So these fifty years seem especially remarkable. And the gift, of these fifty years, has really been to us. They have been a gift to me, to my brother, to my sisters, and to our families.
They gave us the gift of a nap in the guest room when we were new mothers. They gave us the gift of hidden tree forts for our boys and an infinite supply of paint and glitter and beads and tape for our girls. They gave us a place to bring our turkeys and mashed potatoes and chocolate cream pies at Thanksgiving, and a bonfire and a snowball fight on Christmas Day. They gave us long nights around a fire shooing away mosquitoes in July and summers filled with swimming in the lake. They made chocolate chip muffins for our children for breakfast and taught them how to hide their broccoli in their milk at dinner.
And they gave us a home. They gave our children a home. Twenty-five years ago they bought this ranch with nothing but those old corrals. And they turned it into our home.
This ranch is bordered by national forest and bounded by unreasonable love. It is lush with Aspen trees and wildflowers and overrun with grandchildren and their dogs. There is a fox who comes by in the winter and eats the bird seed that spills out of the bird feeders and little boys who never pick up the Legos that they dump out onto the kitchen floor. There are mountain trails that lead to meadows and ponds and cabins in the woods. And there well-worn paths that lead each of us back to this place.
And after fifty years, my dad stills carves their initials into trees.
And my mom still lets him in the house at night.
***Ever Elizabeth, 14 months old. Obsessed with her sister, Daddy,
brothers, Momma's boobies, and dollllsssss** Go The F@ck To Sleep! ( have
you guys read...
12 comments:
Perfect.
I don't know how ANYONE can stand to be married to ANYONE for fifty years. Except of course, our marriage will last forever because really, it's the easiest marriage I've ever had. So low maintenance. Thank you for that special gift.
And, it's about damn frikkin time you posted!
Wow! This is so beautiful. Truly lovely and perfect.
They gave us each other. They made sure that when they no longer can, we have each other's back, and shared mempries and souls. They gave us the model of a realistic. loving marriage. They showed us it is possible to hurt each other and heal, and be better because of it. They set our feet in the concrete of family, which has allowed each of us to pursue our varied lives, knowing that their is a solid base that will tether us to each other. They taught us to stand. Firm. They gave us the gift of a flawed. loving, interesting family. They modelled being readers and learners and explorers and parents and citizens. They questioned many of the things we did and do, but only rarely, when we really needed it, did they try to interfere with our decisions. They have cheered us on and cried when our lives looked like they were falling apart. They helped us pick up the pieces on countless occasions. They celebrate every bit of progress we have ever made. They still put our unbelievably bad artwork all over their house and show it off to anyone who will listen. They nurtured an appreciation of nature and children and a disregard for the impossible. They have understood that although we are grown, we still need parents. Lucky us.
Congratualtions to all of you.
I hope my wife lets me back in the house after 50 years.
-Stu
I have only ever heard you say positive things about your parents. You are SO right, you are truly lucky to have been born to such people.
And you? made me cry with this one. :)
that was just wonderful...giggle-worthy, but wonderful nonetheless.
I'm kind of with Jason and that "WTF? 50 years?" kind of thought. hard to imagine...but thanks to you, easier than before.
Congratulations to them! I adore this tribute.
What a perfectly sweet post.
That's the loveliest thing I've read in a long time.
And I sorta want to be in your family now. =)
Sweet. Perfect. Lucky. Love!
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