Inspiration

In my job, inspiration comes from a lot of places.

A couple of weeks ago, I was putting together our Milestones page, where we publish notices of local engagements, anniversaries, weddings, births etc.

I discovered we had one couple who was celebrating 66 years of marriage and another celebrating 70.

Wow.

This past June, my husband and I celebrated our eighth anniversary. At the end of October, we will have been a couple for 10 years.

I thought those were major milestones.

Seventy years. How amazing is that?

I started thinking about how many times in the past 10 years my husband has made me crazy. How many times I thought, if only for a fleeting moment, of packing it all in and calling it quits because things had gotten rough.

And I realized how much love, work and energy must have gone into those 66- and 70-year marriages. What an accomplishment.

I think sometimes we tend to measure success by how much money or how many material possessions a person has. I know I'm guilty of doing that on occasion.

But when it comes down to it, you know what I think REAL success is?

Making a promise and actually keeping it.

These couples, who likely got married when they were teenagers, did that. I'm sure their lives weren't all sunshine and rainbows every day. I'm sure there were days when all of them thought, "Wow, I wonder if this was really the right thing to do."

But they weathered storms together, which probably made their good times that much sweeter. They had careers, raised families, and are now together in their golden years.

So, I would like to thank Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Rissler and Mr. and Mrs. Burton Gentry, all of Greencastle, for reminding me of what I am working toward -- a forever with a man I love and who loves me back. It's not always going to be easy, but in 50 years I know it will have been worth it.

I am officially inspired.