October 7th 1961 - 2007

I wish to give this post as a gift to my parents, celebrating their 46th wedding anniversay today.

When I think of wedding anniversaries, I think of the love that started it all and where that love has taken the people who gave their vow to each other to love 'till death us do part'.

I wanted to come up with something profound...but how do I put into a short blog all that I have been given, from the intertwining of their two individual lives into one, from their love? I went searching for some quotes, something to capture what I know and feel to be true.

The difference between the love of a valentine's day and the love that is lasting a lifetime?

"Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being "in love" which any of us can convince ourselves we are.
Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two."- Captain Corelli's Mandolin

Yes, that quote is a great one illustrating the growth of love from the first blush of new love into the love upon which a life is built.

From the love of a man and a woman, a foundation is built, upon which a family is given it's rock. From the security of the love they have for each other, their children grow, learn to reach out in the world around them and find their own way.

It is from their love, that I know the following quotes to be true. These quotes speak of a few of the gifts I received from their love.

“Love is the condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.” -Robert A Heinlein

“The best security blanket a child can have is parents who respect each other.”- Jan Blaustone

“The most important thing a father can do for his children to love their mother.”- Unknown

Thank you, Mama and Daddy. Thank you for loving each other and for all that your love has given me. Today, may you celebrate your romantic love and also celebrate what your love for each other had meant to others around you, through out the years!