Everything to Each Other: My Parents' Golden Wedding Anniversary

My parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary just a couple years ago.  They held an open house to mark the occasion, and each of us kids helped in some way to make it a memorable event.  It was a fun but somewhat informal affair at my mom's choosing; I made a photo slideshow that played on a side table, but there were no formal speeches.  Recently, I tried my hand at writing a toast.  Though this occasion had passed, the speech assignment was my opportunity to express what my parents have meant to me as role models, so I wrote a theoretical toast that I would have given had I been asked to speak at their golden anniversary celebration.  The parameter for the assignment was that the speech be no more than 4-6 minutes aloud, so I was practicing brevity even as my heart was full with all that I've learned from my folks.

Thank you all for being here tonight as we celebrate Jane & Curt's Golden Anniversary.  A wedding anniversary is the culmination of love, trust, partnership, tolerance, and tenacity, in no particular order - but most of all a celebration of laughter.  I'd like to tell you how my folks' marriage influenced their work, community life, and above all, their primary emphasis on family.

My mom, Jane, followed my dad, Curt, through three states and back as he was promoted and transferred up the corporate ladder in Human Resources at a large grocery chain.  We moved about every two years, from Chicago, IL, to Salt Lake City, UT, to Orange County, CA, and back to Utah.  They met at the University of Illinois, where their first date was to a St. Patrick's Day dance.  Jane supported Curt as he pursued an MBA, and in turn he supported her through nursing school, while raising three children.  I recall learning to count to a hundred in kindergarten by counting out a package of paper lunch sacks (which came in a pack of 100) in my parent's bedroom while mom was studying for nursing school.  I had the pleasure of taking a few courses with my mom, when she went back to school to get a bachelors at the same time I was in college.  Jane had her own career as a NICU nurse and grief counselor, always growing her skill set as she became a hospice chaplain.  We were never more proud of my dad than when he reinvented himself to head the local Catholic cemetery for the last chapter of his professional career.  My parents taught me to continue to reach for new boundaries in personal and professional growth and set the stage for me to follow my dreams.  

Community has always been central to my parent's way of life.  Their faith sustains their relationship.  Always active in their Catholic church parish, whether it be couples club, ladies' guild or Knights of Columbus, most of their friends have come from their church activities.  When they retired and moved to Nashville, they gave service to their new community by volunteering at the local hospital.  These activities showed me how to make friends, how to give back, and how to find a sense of belonging. 

But always, nothing has been more important to Curt or Jane than family.  There's a greeting card in my baby book, signed by my brother Gregg, that says "Welcome to the family, Eric."  Apparently my brother and sister had a bit of a betting war when I was in the womb.  My brother, having lost, thought he might change the outcome before "it" came home from the hospital if he addressed his card to a boy.  I like to think my folks taught him to love me.  As this story shows, our home has always been filled with humor.  Christmases have always been a huge deal in our house.  My mom loves to decorate and to entertain, and that holiday is one where she goes all-out.  Perhaps the greatest sign of love for their family was Jane and Curt's decision to return closer to their extended family after retirement by moving to Tennessee, where they could easily and regularly visit their siblings in Southern Illinois.  My parents' treatment of each other is the embodiment of the word "family."  Their devotion to each other continues to grow, as they've seen each other through health issues.  The way they cherish their relationships continues to instill their values in me and my siblings.

My parents have been my central role models throughout every stage of my life.  They continue to give me hope that the right match is out there for each of us.  Their work, community focus, and devotion to family have laid the groundwork for all of us to share in their happiness.  Please join me in a toast to their next decades of love and life together.  To Curt and Jane!