Fifty Years Ain't as Long as it Used to Be

Thought for the day:  If time only flies when you're having fun, I must be having a fantastic time.

Hi-ya. We had a fantabulous time with our friends in Tennessee. Um, no I'm not calling you a smart ass... that's just a picture of the lid from one of the games we sometimes play while enjoying life at Cliff's and Kati's. One of many many games. Seemed like an appropriate picture to use with this post, because if the shoe fits... and it definitely fits Smarticus and me. We're both smart asses. Come to think of it, so are Cliff and Kati. I guess that's part of the reason we get along so well. [The picture in the header was taken out back of their house.]


Now that we're home, it's time for another adventure. This time, it's for our anniversary. Our forty-sixth. YIPES! I used to think people who were married for fifty years were married like for-ev-er, and were like... ancient. You know... beyond old. Man, was I ever wrong. Fifty years is right around the corner for us, and though the mirror and calendar may tell us otherwise, on the inside, we're still young newlyweds. (Granted, newlyweds whose young bodies make more snap-crackle-and-pop noises than a bowl of Rice Krispies on steroids.)

With a couple updates, here is a re-run from a couple years ago. It was originally titled, Still Celebrating. (And we are!)

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Thought for the day:  Our wedding was many years ago. The celebration continues to this day. [Gene Perret]

Yeah, our wedding was a few years ago... forty-six years ago this coming Sunday.

I love being married. It's so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life.  [Rita Rudner]

Lucky me, I found that one special person at a very young age, and have been annoying the crap out of him ever since. Met him at the scabby-kneed age of twelve. (And married him anyway!) Okay, so we looked a little different when we got married in '69. Yeah, yeah, yeah...  he had hair... I had a waist. Lots of ups and downs since then, too, but one thing that hasn't changed? Our sense of humor. We're still laughing. Still working hard to pull the proverbial applecart in the same direction.

Still loving.

A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.  [Mignon McLaughlin]

Of course, if you ask Smarticus how to make a marriage last, he'd probably say what he always says. He says the secret lies in him saying two simple words, whether he means 'em or not: Yes, dear. (He's kind of a smart ass.)

I say a successful marriage requires hardhats, because it's an ongoing project, and never really done. A successful marriage is an edifice that must be rebuilt every day.  [Andre Maurois]

Doggone it, there's no such thing as resting on your laurels when it comes to marriage, is there? Or as Smarticus says, "It only takes one aw sh*t to wipe out two attaboys." (Told ya he's a smart ass.)  Lily Tomlin expressed it a bit more delicately. She said, The road to success is always under construction.  

So maybe a successful marriage isn't something we ever achieve, but if you think about it, that's a good thing, because if we think we've already arrived, we may no longer strive.  Best to keep wearing those hardhats, to keep building that road to success, and to savor every bit of joy and humor we find along the way. Gotta have fun. Gotta laugh.

Talking about fun and laughter, remember Red Skelton? He was a very sweet, very mild-mannered PG-rated comedian. Anyway, he and his wife were married for many, many years, and here's his Recipe for the Perfect Marriage:

• Two times a week, we go to a nice restaurant, have a little beverage, good food and companionship. She goes on Tuesdays, and I go on Fridays.
• We also sleep in separate beds. Hers is in California, and mine is in Texas.
• I take my wife everywhere ... but she keeps finding her way back.
• I asked my wife where she wanted to go for our anniversary. "Somewhere I haven't been in a long time!" she said. So I suggested the kitchen.
• We always hold hands. If I let go, she shops.
• She has an electric blender, electric toaster, and electric bread maker. She said, "There are too many gadgets and no place to sit down!" So I bought her an electric chair.
• My wife told me the car wasn't running well because there was water in the carburetor. I asked where the car was, and she told me, "In the lake."
• She got a mud pack and looked great for two days. Then the mud fell off.
• She ran after the garbage truck, yelling, "Am I too late for the garbage?" The driver said, "No, jump in!"
• Remember. Marriage is the number one cause of divorce.
• I married Miss Right. I just didn't know her first name was Always.
• I haven't spoken to my wife in eighteen months. I don't like to interrupt.
• The last fight was my fault, though. My wife asked, "What's on TV?" and I said, "Dust!

No telling what we're gonna do this weekend, but I know it'll be an adventure. When you're married to a smart ass, every day is an adventure. Y'all have a super weekend.

A long marriage is two people trying to dance a duet and two solos at the same time.  [Anne Taylor Fleming]







Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

May I never be so blind that all I see is my own small world, nor so self-satisfied that all I am is all I ever hope to be.