50 Years!

Today, August 10, Drew and I celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary! I'll let those words sink in for a minute...

50 Years

I've rarely thought of myself as ever being old enough to celebrate 50 years of marriage. That was my grandparents, May and Harry Butler. I vividly remember the afternoon of their Golden Anniversary gathering, and thanks to my Aunt Carolyn, I have a photo of it.

Eyelet tablecloth, freshly cleaned curtains, silver service, petit fours.
New pink dress and best Sunday suit.
Dear, dear faces. 

And now,  Drew and I – with gratitude, excitement (and a bit of disbelief at #50!) – have  reached the same milestone. In our own style – with our own family – we, too, celebrated. 
​
​In June, fourteen of us – children, spouses, grandchildren – traveled to Quebec City where we rented an Airbnb house for a week.

Together we prepared meals, ate, played games, talked, watched movies, played whiffle ball, went sightseeing, kayaked, swam and paddleboarded in the lake behind the house. 

On a cool, sunny evening, we officially celebrated our 50th –a couple of months early, but who's counting at that point?  Our children prepared homemade pizza to recreate our first date and added charcuterie board appetizers, with samplings of local products, and luscious French deserts.

We sat around a common table after dinner and shared family memories.
 Matthew read his touching "Poem for Anniversary," that he wrote for Grandmom and Granddad.
We blew out candles atop a raspberry mouse.
​It was joyful!

I frequently stood back and marveled at our amazing family, which neither Drew nor I could have ever imagined on August 10, 1974 as we rushed out of the church into a new life.    

Yet here we all are!

As we gathered, I felt the presence of  family whose lives came before.
​We carry forward their legacies...and our own.