An even three dozen

smiling parents

My parents knew each other two weeks when they decided to get married. When my dad proposed, my mom thought about it briefly and said, “Okay, but let’s not tell anyone in case we change our minds.” They didn’t change their minds, and six weeks after they met, they were married.

When I was home in Portland last month, I drove to the coast for the day with my parents. Just like I used to do when I was six years old, from the backseat of the car I asked, “tell me a story about when you were first married.” They exchanged glances and started trying to dredge up any details they might not have told me before. My mom started remembering the second thoughts she had during their honeymoon. She said that as they were driving across the country together, from San Francisco to Virginia (for a big Subud gathering at Skymont), she started to freak out. She realized that she knew almost nothing about the man she had just married, and began to ponder outloud the fact that, for all she knew, he could be an axe murderer.

Well, my dad, being the person he is, latched on to her worries and did his best to teasingly exacerbate them. He would make faces, trying to imitate the expressions of the criminally unhinged, and do his very best to sneak up and give her a fright at the various campsites and motels they stopped at along the way. It is an amazing thing that they are still married. But, still married they are, and today makes 36 years of partnership for them. I feel immensely blessed to have had them both as parents. Happy Anniversary, guys.

0 thoughts on “An even three dozen

  1. Aasmodeus

    Happy Anniversary to them!!! I just attended my girlfriend’s parents’ 40th anniversary party (a surprise event) and it was a beautiful sight to behold. My favorite part probably would have been yours too… all the stories people told about them over the past 40 years. It was a tribute to their family’s story-telling ability that I had some stories of my own, heartfelt! Knowing how difficult it can be, I feel those who make it so long together are very blessed, as are those who are touched by the couple’s lives.

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  2. Ellen

    Awesome story! My sister married right out of high school and everyone thought it wouldn’t last and 25 yrs and 2 college students (well, 1 student and 1 grad) later, they’re still going quite strong. And now their son is set to marry his college sweetheart. Sometimes you just know…

    Oh, and when my sis was pregnant with said nephew, which was when I was still in high school, many of my friends brain-farted and said stuff to me like “your mom must be ready to KILL her”, and I had to explain NO – this was the married sister, and baby was due close to the 2 year anniversary.

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  3. Melissa

    I love hearing about marriages like this. Just goes to show you that all the long engagements in the world might not amount to a hill of beans. Congrats to Mom and Dad!

    Reply
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