There’s an old saying that goes something like this, ” The greatest thing a father can do for his children, is to love their mother.” Based on that saying alone (although I have collected other data over the years to confirm this) my Dad is clearly the greatest Dad in the history of all Dads.
Yesterday being Mum and Dads 51st wedding anniversary, I spent the day with them and many other family members including my sister and her husband who travelled from interstate for the occasion. We all gathered in Mum and Dads beautiful garden to share a BBQ lunch and the pleasure of each others company to celebrate their amazing milestone.
Its quite hard to fathom a journey of 51 years with that “one” person as your constant companion in an age where everything we know is disposable, including relationships that become a challenge or that end up requiring more maintainence than we expected when we first signed up for the deal. Hey, I know… I have personal experience in the “relationships that didn’t survive the distance” arena.
What it must feel like to wake up everyday with that knowing… Just having that certainty that this person is your rock, that this person loves you with no conditions day in day out, through all circumstances and above no other. They’ve survived the early lean years when money was scarce and the days were long, Mum barely seeing Dad as he worked well into the night on the trucks to try to make a better life for them while Mum kept the home fires burning whilst caring for him and 2 (might I say adorable) little girls.
They also survived the other various peaks and valleys that are an inevitable part of a journey of this magnitude, supporting each other in their respective roles throughout the years. I know it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. I’ve witnessed a fair portion of their lives together and I have to say I admire them greatly for this great achievement as does my Sister. It doesn’t go unnoticed that they are clearly best friends neither of them spending anymore than a few hours apart in any given week, that’s just how they are and I’m glad. It’s comforting.
As the get together drew to a close yesterday and my daughter and I prepared to leave, the family gathered out the front to say their respective goodbyes. My sister and her husband had to journey the 7 hrs back to their home in Victoria that night and as always, I hate the goodbye that comes with this.
As we drove away, I looked back to see Mum and Dad with their arms around each other waving to us as the rest of the family also prepared to set off.
What a great day…what a great couple and what amazing role models in the displaying of virtues such as endurance and unconditional love.
Thank you Mum and Dad.
I love you xxx