Everlasting Love

Love is a beautiful thing, especially when it’s genuine and everlasting. Nowadays, it’s harder for people to have a genuine love for a person. We are living in a century where divorce is common and it’s easy to find a couple that don’t actually even like each other. People are happier to settle down with someone as opposed to actually finding a person they love with all their heart. Romance is a concept that has been less important throughout recent centuries. The days of heartfelt romantic dinners, dates and gestures have been replaced with Starbucks and Nando’s dates along with alcoholic nights out and one night stands.

One love I have been privileged to witness is my grandparents. It makes me feel better to know that everlasting love does actually exist, even though it’s through the eyes of an older generation. This was complemented by the 60th wedding anniversary they celebrated last week. 60 years of genuine love and marriage! It’s hard to come by these days. Grandad is now 94 years young and Granny is 82. They’ve been happily married and rared eight children at the same time. They complement each other so perfectly, and it’s the closest I’ve seen to a perfect marriage.

The famous couple themselves!

Unfortunately, I missed the anniversary celebrations due to my recent circumstances. This was hard for me as I had attended the previous two celebrations that occurred – Grandad’s 90th birthday and the 50th wedding celebration. It made it harder to deal with due to the fact that there may not be another chance for a group family celebration such as this. Grandad is 94 now, so it’s impossible to tell how many years are left in his long illustrious life. Let’s hope there are plenty more healthy years to follow though! But as they said themselves, it’s impossible for everyone to be there now seeing as all the grandchildren are growing up. University, travels, work and other commitments have made it harder for us to attend and unless the time is right it’s near impossible. This occasion saw me and another grandchild miss out through living abroad.

I can imagine deep down that this was disappointing for our grandparents, who would have loved for us to be there, but they understandably knew it wasn’t to be. The great thing about this occasion though is the collective presence of the majority of family members and close friends all in the same area. It’s always a brilliant celebration with food, music and general happiness all around. The previous celebration, which I was in attendance for, was grandad’s 90th birthday. Myself and two other grandchildren, who are similar in age to me, felt it necessary to wear matching grey suits in an attempt to act older and more sophisticated. We may not necessarily act older but we certainly looked the part! It’s safe to say we don’t look as baby faced as we used too also.

The three stooges at the previous celebration – Grandad’s 90th.

Thankfully, we now have Facebook and a mobile phone I can call family members with. I may not have been there for the 60th wedding anniversary but I was well documented with photos and information. So luckily for you I can share these with you!

The occasion occurs in the same place every time, a hotel in a lovely village in our local city. My grandparents have a specific love for this venue, hence why the last three celebrations have taken place here. To be fair, I can see why they love it. The actual venue itself looks lovely and we have never had any problems as such there. The three course meal isn’t bad either, which is always a plus. The meal is always followed up by a presentation of music and talents of dance, comedy and so on. We have quite a musical family, so this is usually packed full of talents and my grandparents enjoy the view and ‘talent show’ if you want to call it that.

The anniversary cake

The invitation card

This was then followed up by the cake and speeches, which are usually beautiful. Grandad has a wonderful way with words and is a very witty character. The cake looked particularly delicious! Unfortunately I didn’t get to try it. I was hoping for a slice in the mail in Tarragona but that wasn’t to be! From what I heard, it was another wonderful occasion. I don’t think that was ever in doubt though.

Overall, it was wonderful to see all the photos and hear that everything went well. I’m sure my grandparents cherished every moment of it, as will every family member. Especially Grandad, who will be very keen to hold tough for the 70th anniversary. Let’s hope for good health and numerous more years of happy marriage and everlasting love.

Do you think true love and long lasting marriages can happen in this day and age? Or is this a thing of past? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. I’m curious to hear your opinions.