1983. Ronald Reagan was President. Facebook wasn't even a gleam in anyone's eye. Gary Trudeau began a 20-month break from the cartoon series "Doonesbury." The world was quite a different place back then.
And on Jan. 9 of that year a young man and woman stood up before God, family, and friends and promised to stay together till death do they part. For better, for worse, richer, poorer ... you get the idea.
Don and me. We were a lot younger then we are now. Probably had a lot more stars in our eyes before reality brushed some of them away. But here we are. 30 years older and still together.
We've outlasted appliances, pets, and the economy's ups and downs. We've laughed together, grieved together, and occasionally yelled at each other. Yet even through the latter we've managed to keep it, and ourselves, together.
In this land of easy divorce, this feels like some kind of achievement. Especially since we're both still happy about being together and not just enduring. I'm not saying it's always sunshine and roses between us, but the good has far outweighed the bad over the years.
We compliment each other in our gifts. Don is the level-headed one, the one who can keep us in budget and on the right track. He's the organized one that plans our trips and makes sure things more or less run well in the house. I'm the emotional one, the diplomat, the one who leads us to fun. I'm also the tech person of the house, who Don turns to when the electronics inevitably act up.
We've put the relationship to the test. We endured five moves in approximately five and a half years - believe me, that was a challenge and in my book fits into the "for worse" part of the marriage. We've had our sorrows. We've had our fights.
But at the same time we've had our joys. We've had the privilege of raising two wonderful sons. We have shared a lot of fun times, a lot of smiles and jokes.
How do we manage to stay together? I have to admit that we've been fortunate in that while we've had our bad times, they have never descended into the way of nightmares. We've always had God in sight, and I know that this has helped us during the darker times. We agreed a long time ago that no matter what, we would find a way to work together through the good times and bad.
It's meant putting up with each other's flaws. We've also had to learn to work around our differences. Don is a morning person; I'm a night owl. He's organized to a fault; my office looks like it was hit by a tornado. My temper is shorter than his, but when Don's temper is ignited, look out.
The world has changed over the past 30 years. Don and I have changed as well. We're older now, with two grown sons. We are hopefully wiser than that starry-eyed couple from 30 years ago, and have a better understanding on what our vows mean than we ever did.
One thing that has remained constant and growing is our love for each other. I am grateful for that and know that it will only get better over the next 30 years.
Happy anniversary, Don. Thank you for 30 wonderful years. It will be a joy to walk the next three decades at your side.
Sunday, January 13, 2013 - www.newssun.com/col-011313-ware