Beating the Odds

I like to think about the life my grandparents have lived and wow, what a rollercoaster.  My three remaining grandparents are all in their 90's. They were raised during the Great depression, fought during World War II, raised baby boomers, watched their nephews go off to the Vietnam war, saw the use of cars, airplanes, and computers escalate to everyday life, and watched as fads come and go, some good and some terribly bad.  One of the terribly bad trends was the lack of emphasis placed on marriage and the family.  The divorce rate has dramatically increased in their lifespan and many choose to just forego the whole marriage and children thing and just live to please themselves.  Today we are celebrating my grandparents beating the odds.  Today is my Grandpa and Grandma's 70th wedding anniversary.  That is amazing!!! I Googled the odds of that happening and it is about 1 in 10,000 people will celebrate 70 years of marriage.  Many of us won't even live to long enough to be married that long, but when you factor in divorce the odds are really against us.

Marriage is a commitment.  My grandparents marriage has not been perfect or easy, but it has been an example of commitment and love.  Marriage is work, work that a lot of people find too hard.  When I was younger my grandparents used to take trips together.  It was so exciting when they would come back from a trip and bring us gifts.  Later they would take trips for the winter to Arizona.  The last several years has really taken a toll on their lives as health problems keep arising. Traveling and even driving has become more of a challenge, but they are still together, alive and kicking and celebrating a milestone that 99.99% of the world population will never have.  Unfortunately Grandma is in a transitional care unit recovering from a surgery but never the less we remember this union they made 70 years ago at a church in a small town with just a few onlookers.  (Not near the average cost of $25,000 for a wedding ceremony today.)  Just a couple of young adults, figuring life out together after a terrible war.  They raised two lovely daughters and I am grateful they did.  Both of their two daughters raised two daughters of their own, and my mom also raised a son.  I have a rich heritage with my parents and their parents keeping their marriage covenant.  I pray that in 42 years David and I will carry on this blessing and celebrate our 70th, beating the odds.

God bless you and have a wonderful day.

Alicia

70 years ago

their 50th anniversary

Latisha and Alexander at their 50th

Grandma and Grandpa and Micky (they have had a small
dog for most of their married life)

4 years ago a picture of most of the our family, a few offspring
and in laws missing.