Forty Years 3.21.10

So March 21 is my parents' fortieth wedding anniversary.

Being the responsible and loving daughter that I am, I did something spectacular for this momentous occasion.

I forgot.

I mean, I knew their anniversary was coming up. I had it on my calendar. But on the morning of the anniversary I started to wonder which year they'd be celebrating. And then it hit me. I'm 38. They were married a year and half when they had me. Therefore...

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

It was not a good morning. I did not feel like a very good daughter. Let's face it. I WASN'T a very good daughter.

But they were gracious about it, and I think of all the kids, only Briana realized it was such a big day beforehand.

Some of the kids joined them for dinner, and according to my mom, they had a nice night. My mom doesn't like to talk about herself much, so as Bri started pumping her for "Lessons You've Learned in the Last Forty Years," she didn't have much to say. This is one of the bits of wisdom she decided to offer:

Lower your expectations.

I know! It's so romantic.

So maybe that's her advice (which I think is actually pretty sound), but this is some of what I've learned from my parents' forty years:

Kiss hello and goodbye.
Hold hands when you walk together.
Say a kneeling prayer before you leave each other in the morning.
Play lots of games. The board kind, not the mind kind.
Spend time with your extended families.
Never complain about church responsibilities.
Love each other despite differences.

So what does my picture of the day have to do with my parents' anniversary?

After David and I got home from dinner in Heber with his mom and got the kids to bed, we were pretty worn out. I found myself putting things away in the kitchen and thought, "I wonder if David would like a drink of water?" I got out two glasses, filled them with ice and water and brought them downstairs. And what did I see?

Two glasses of ice water already sitting on the coffee table.

I looked at David and said, "Look what I brought you!" and we started to laugh. It was a little Gift of the Magi like (well, not really). But my heart melted and I thought, "THIS is one of the secrets of marriage. We got it right tonight!"

So here's hoping that in ten years I can do up my parents' FIFTIETH anniversary right. And in 21 1/2 more years David and I will have a chance to look back at OUR last forty years and feel grateful for all the glasses of water we've brought each other over the years.