Please join me in wishing my parents, Craig, and Melissa Poole, a HAPPY 50TH ANNIVERSARY! 50 YEARS! (Are you kidding me?) The first thing most people ask when they hear 50 YEARS OF MARRIAGE is “How do you do it? What’s the secret?”
I remember a time when my dad pulled the car over to the side of the road to pick daisies for my mom. (Okay, I remember hearing about it.) And I remember how much my mom cried when she told us. Sobbed, really. Ridiculously HAPPY tears. And I remember how my sister and I looked at each other, totally confused. Here’s the thing: he picked daisies for her. Daisies. Wildflowers. It wasn’t a fancy, extravagant vacation. It wasn’t a diamond bracelet. It was more. Because daisies are her favorite flowers. He saw them and he thought she’d like them. And he picked them for her.
If you’re ever talking with my mom on the phone, you should know that she’ll drop (pretty much) everything if my dad beeps in. Y’know. Call-waiting. And I’m not kidding. I could be on the line telling her I was going to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize and if my dad beeped-in, she’d say, “Oh, sorry honey. Let me call you right back. That’s your dad on the other line. “Is it rude? Nope. Because my folks were a couple before they were parents. A duo and then my sister and I came along. And then we grew up and moved away and started families of our own. And now they’re a duo once again. A couple. I’m sure you remember what it was like when your sweetheart called you on the phone. Remember how you’d drop everything for them because your heart practically jumped out of your chest with anticipation of hearing their voice.
Now, I’m only guessing here because I haven’t been married for 50 YEARS, but it seems like their secret is the gesture. The small stuff. The meaningful stuff. Stopping to pick the daisies. Dropping everything to hear the voice of one’s sweetheart. Even the biggest moments in life are made from little moments. And I’ll bet if you asked my mom and dad, they’d tell you that the secret to 50 YEARS of marriage is remembering to see the small moments. Remembering to see each other. All the time. May we all remember the small moments, too. Mom and Dad thanks for being such great examples of what love can be.
Jason Poole, son
