A Rare Breed - 30 Years of Marriage Later

On this day, in 1980, my Mum married my Dad... And here it is 30 years later, they're still together and married. Judging by conversations and the way they act around each other, they actually still "kinda like" each other.

I'm the oldest of their two kids, and I was born a year and a day after they got married - Yep, tomorrow's my 29th birthday. So, it wasn't a shot gun wedding by any means. We aren't the Rockefeller's or the Kennedy's, or a relative of Bill Gates. We aren't of Royal or Noble blood, we aren't high society... So they got married because they wanted to and because they loved each other. They still do to this day and guaranteed they haven't forgotten each other's birthdays or Christmas or their anniversary. (Granted in the line of work Dad's soon retiring from, he was out of town working and incidentally, has been out've town for many of his anniversaries and my birthday. What are ya gonna do though right? Let your mortgage lapse so you can be there for an anniversary?)

I won't even begin to philosophize as to why they're still together, as long as they're happy, they can stay that way. All I know is, that in high school and even now, a lot of my friends' parents are divorced and on their second or third marriage. When I tell them my parents have each been married once, and that was to each other... And that they've been married as long as they have, they give me an arched eyebrow look of skepticism.

In today's society, they say that 50% of marriages will fail... (And no, you don't have to be rich and famous to blow through spouses like they're candy.) The why and the how of my parents still being together 30 years, I'm not 100% sure... They didn't stay together for the kids though, they loved each other. Maybe it's because Dad did work a lot on the road, they trusted each other not to do anything they weren't supposed to... And that gave them the space to themselves. We always knew Dad was coming back, when the line "You just wait until your father gets home!" was used, half the time we'd hope Mum would forget being that Dad may not be home for another couple weeks. Maybe they had good examples, both Mum and Dad's parents were married almost 50 years. All I do know, and I guess all I need to know, is that they are a rare breed and can continue on that road.

It's not always about me, but I'm glad it's where I came from... Stability perhaps?