Today is our Wedding anniversary. 55 years ago I walked down the aisle and into a new life — a wife, later a mother, and now a grandmother.
Ours was an evening wedding followed by a dinner. Close family members attended along with friends. Our honeymoon included a week at Emerald Lake in Jasper National Park and another week in Vancouver where we secured rush tickets to a Sammy Davis Jr. concert!
Shortly after our marriage, we moved across the country to attend grad school at McGill University in Montreal. Away from family, we learned to depend on each other. Busy career years followed.
To our surprise, after twelve years with no children, I was pregnant! We delighted in our new roles as mom and dad. For the first few years of our son’s life, I was a single parent paying sky-rocketing mortgage rates of the early 80s plus exorbitant fees for an infant child care centre while my husband completed this doctoral degree in New York City.
Fast forward 55 years. Our careers are history; our daily lives proceed at a slower pace. We’ve spent more than half a century together, raised and educated our son. We watched him establish himself, get married and have a family. Now we are proud grandparents of a beautiful granddaughter and handsome grandson.
How will we celebrate? In years past we took special trips for milestone anniversaries re-visiting favourite cities and countries. There were cruises and special dinner events. We also had our share of unconventional celebrations such as anniversary 35 when we were stuck in a residence at Duke University along with several soccer teams! It was pizza and beer for the festivities that year!
For our celebration today we’ve purchased a red oak sapling that we will plant to mark the day. This sapling will replace the 100-year-old red oak that fell earlier this summer. Along with planting the tree, we plan to hang out at the cottage, drink champagne, play our favourite music and have sushi for dinner with our family. Nothing spectacular — just another day of creating precious memories!
Many congratulations on your anniversary. Your plans for celebrating sounded really special. Over the years we have planted shrubs, rose bushes etc.. to mark ours but an oak tree is definitely impressive. Guess you do have to get to 55 years to deserve that.
Thanks for your good wishes on our anniversary. We had a lovely day!
It was a surprise when the huge old oak tree fell over on a quiet evening earlier this summer. We were eating dinner on the deck when the tree collapsed onto the roadway. There was no wind — it simply collapsed! Although we have several other mature oaks on the property, planting a replacement felt like an appropriate way to mark our anniversary and to ensure a leafy green canopy for years to come.
Congratulations! 55 years of being married is a wonderful accomplishment! I hope you have a most wonderful day!
Thank you! We had a lovely day recounting memories, looking at old photos, and just enjoying togetherness. We feel blessed!
Congratulations! I would say you and your husband have lovely shared lovely times together all these years. I’m happy for you.
I have thought of you several times in the last months. We have just made the heart rending move you made a few years ago. You did it so successfully I thought about you when I wavered as we moved forward leaving our home of thirty years. Thankfully, so far, after 6 days of unpacking and organizing, (with much more to go) we like our new place. Thank you for writing encouraging and positive posts.
Hi Beth,
Rudy and I had a lovely day celebrating our anniversary!
De-cluttering, downsizing, and moving are challenges. From my experience, I know that it will take a few weeks to organize and unpack. Once done, you can give yourself a big hug and be ready for another chapter in your life’s journey. Stay strong in your resolve!
Jeanette aka postworksavvy