Today it seems like a huge feat to come up upon your 50th wedding anniversary. There don’t seem to be many who make it this far, and that can be because of death or divorce. This is actually something that is coming up for my grandparents, and I am in awe of the lifetime they have built together.

Though my grandmother had a stroke many years ago, she is still with us. She doesn’t remember a lot of things, but she does remember us. She gets our names wrong, but she is usually pretty close. She calls me by my mom’s name, and that tells me that she knows who I am, but somewhere in there the wires are crossed. I’m not sure if she will realize what a milestone her 50th wedding anniversary will be, but I do know that she still loves my grandfather very much. You can often catch her looking at him in a way that says nothing other than love. I think the fact that they have been through so much and will be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary says a lot about that look.

They have been through a lot. I remember when I was young I heard something that might have stopped their marriage from going any further, and there would have never been able to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. I remember that my grandmother suspected my grandfather had cheated on her. In the end it came out that he and this woman were just friends, but I can understand why the friendship made my grandmother uncomfortable. That woman is still around, though my grandfather doesn’t see her anywhere. I don’t suspect she’ll be invited to the 50th wedding anniversary celebration.

I know this woman and my grandfather had feelings deeper than friendship, though apparently they never acted on them. The sad thing is that she still works right next door to where my grandparents live. She was a friend to my grandmother, which makes me very angry. I am almost tempted to send her some favors from the upcoming 50th wedding anniversary celebration, just to show her that she cannot hurt my grandmother again. That would be childish of me, and I should let sleeping dogs lie, but that doesn’t mean it’s not tempted. Despite everything, I think the 50th wedding anniversary is going to be about more than grandparents. It’s going to be a reminder to us all that it is possible to stay together, you just have to be willing to work on it.