“If you’re lucky enough to find a weirdo, never let them go.”

My parents celebrated their 33rd wedding anniversary this past Friday. 33 years. These two had FOUR crazy children, and still manage to have one of the strongest marriages ever.

I posted a photo of the two of them to facebook on Friday, and was surprised with the amount of comments and messages saying how lucky I was to have them in my life. How blessed I was to have them as an example of what marriage should and can be. I’ve always been so grateful for their amazing model of marriage, but it got me thinking about what exactly they had taught me about marriage. What their example alone had shown me.

Laugh together. Growing up my parents were always laughing. Sure I heard them fight lots. But they taught me that even though couples fight, they makeup and laugh often….and not just the polite chuckles of amusement, but the laughing so hard my Mom has tears streaming down her face, and my Dad is having a hard time catching his breath he’s laughing so hard. My Dad knows exactly what to say to put a smile on his face and he says those things often.

It’s okay to drive each other nuts sometimes. It is. Two different people living together in the same house for years…they’re gonna get on your nerves OFTEN. My Dad was in the army, he likes the house military clean. My Mom loves disco music and dancing. My Dad prefers to watch documentaries and British TV shows. My Mom prefers the occasional soap opera (or 40 years of Y&R ;) and Castle. They get one each others nerves…and that’s okay. It’s normal. They work around it, and love each other regardless of their pet peeves.

They take trips without each other. Every year my Dad goes on a weekend fishing trip with his friends from work. My Mom every year goes away with us girls, or her Mom for a weekend. I remember asking my Mom if she missed my Dad when he was gone, and she said “of course! I love the time away from each other to do our own things, but every night I miss him and am so excited for him to come home.”

They date. All 4 of us kids have moved out now, and they’re dating still. Weekly nights out for dinner, dinner parties with friends, or something simple as a trip to Costco together….those ones always make me smile…they both didn’t need to go to Costco, but they went together anyway. :)

They think of doing nice things for each other still. When Marco and I were first dating, I was always thinking of things I could do for him. The longer you’re together though, it gets harder to remember to do those things. My parents still have it down. My Dad still picks my Mom flowers that he sees while he’s out for his weekly runs. My Mom still bakes his favourite cookies.

They cuddle and kiss in the kitchen after dinner. This is my most favourite memory growing up. Every night after dinner, my Mom would start cleaning the kitchen, and my Dad would hug her and kiss her and usually tickle her in the middle of the kitchen with all us kids watching. We would usually make gross noises and yell EW….but honestly, we loved it. Seeing how much your parents love each other as a kid is the BEST thing ever. It made our home so happy.

Its ok to not have the same interests or hobbies, but try each others every once and awhile. My parents are in the opposites attract category. My Dad is an avid runner and hiker. He climbs a few mountains a year, hikes almost weekly, and has run a few marathons. My Mom prefers walks around the neighborhood. My Mom is an amazing cook and baker…so much so that when we all moved out she made us a cookbook of all of her recipes that I still use weekly…my Dad on the other hand breaded chicken with only cayenne pepper and has a hard time following a recipe (he does a mean BBQ and Sunday morning breakfast though!) They each have their unique personalities and they didn’t lose themselves in their marriage. They didn’t change who they were to try to make each other happy. They kept up their individual hobbies and are happier for it. Even better, they occasionally try each others hobbies out…..my Mom once or twice a year tries out a hike with my Dad….and my Dad sometimes tries cooking ;)

Mostly they’ve taught me that it is possible to fall in love with the love of your life, get married, have kids, raise a family, watch them all get married and move away and have a relationship that’s better than ever before. They taught me the value in marrying your best friend and making sure that person stays your best friend for the rest of your life. They’ve showed me that even when money gets tight, life gets hard, family members pass away, and their kids give them challenges (not me, just my siblings;) that you’re a team, that those hardships are a little bit easier because you don’t have to face them alone and that at the end of every day your best friend is there to cuddle and kiss you in the kitchen after dinner, to check to make sure the oven is turned off and the front door is locked before going to bed, and to lay in bed and laugh and talk to before going to sleep without fail, every single day.

Mom and Dad….I LOVE you! :) Here’s to another 33 years and more! :)

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