50 Years--And Counting

On September 4, 2015, Larry and I reached our 50^th wedding anniversary. It sounds like a long time, even though it seems like yesterday. The following day, we celebrated the occasion with family and friends.

Through the years, we’ve been asked how we’ve managed to stay together all these years and still like each other. We usually quote Lorenzo Music. You may remember him as the voice of ‘Carleton, your doorman’ on the Rhoda show or the voice of Garfield, the cat. Years ago, he and his wife were interviewed on a talk show, When they were asked the same question, their answer was, “Low expectations.”

Of course, everyone laughed. But the more we thought about it, the more truth we heard in it. Our expectations often get us in trouble. We set them too high, and then we’re disappointed when they aren’t met. By keeping them lower, we are pleasantly surprised when things work out better than we expected.

Another quote we loved on longevity came from Robert Mitchum. When asked about his own long marriage, he attributed it to “lack of imagination.” We always thought this statement contained an element of truth.

Our low expectations or lack of imagination or the great modeling we had in our families, with many members demonstrating the value of long marriages, may have contributed to our own. Or perhaps we just managed to find the right partner early in life.

I am personally grateful for whatever factors contributed to the past fifty years. I’m ready to keep going, and since Larry also renewed his vows, I guess he is, too.