I greatly admire married couples that love each other enough over decades in these difficult complicated modern technology times that they remain together.
Others have mentioned that their children bind them together, once the kids have flown the nest, couples have less to talk about and little in common. We have no children and therefore no grandchildren but we do have one another and life is better for that reason.
Some couples will tell you that they have never had a cross word for each other, well let me tell you that's not us, but despite the spats and cross words, we are always friends again by bedtime.
"I, ___, take you, ___, for my lawful wife/husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health and forsaking all others, until death do us part."
Those words are vows, we hold dear by them, we love each other and say so. And, apart from the time that I had a short stay in hospital, my beautiful wife has had a bouquet of flowers and a love letter every week for the last fifty three years or so.
In my wallet is a small, embossed card, about the size of a credit card. On one side it reads: Because you're worth it. The other side reads:
Every year I may, wash five hundred shirts, cook thousands of meals, clean the bathtub and lavatory hundreds of times. Give thousands of hugs, run an instant taxi service, clean, dust and polish thousands of times. Keep smiling to encourage you when you're down. Cook all day and then be the perfect hostess. Make myself look good for you, even though you might not even notice. I laugh at your corny jokes and answer your calls for help. Wait up when you're home late, even into the small hours.
But I would do it all again for you, because you're worth it. Every bit!
