Thirty years

Today our children and our daughter-in-law are celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary at a house party. Thirty years ago we were on our honeymoon in Williamsburg, Virginia. While we might have foreseen a lengthy marriage, we did not anticipate a boy named Devin and a girl named Dara who lit up our lives in a way that only children can. Nor could we have imagined Devin’s wife Mandi and all the joy she has brought to our life too. Today Devin, Mandi, Dara and Shaun are working together to throw us a party. The good Lord has provided sunshine and warm weather too. There will be a number of people attending including my wife’s father and my mother. We have lost a couple parents in the last thirty years and grandparents too. We mourn their loss, but celebrate their spirit among us as its reflected in us all. Thank you for this day, these children, grown and married and an extended family that continues to grow.