30th Wedding Anniversary

"May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth." (Proverbs 5:18)

Last night, one Chinese American couple celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary with a Chinese dinner banquet for over 60 people. What is so special about this celebration is that they chose to celebrate with family members and "old" friends, college classmates, and co-workers from earlier careers on the West Coast even though they have been living in the East Coast for almost three decades.

The husband orchestrated the event. They shared their love and joy with people who were there in their humble beginnings (when he was a Ph.D. candidate as a foreign student and she just started working). They introduced their family and friends as they recounted different periods in their marriage. They proudly showed off their two mature and responsible young adult children.

The climax was when he presented her with a surprised diamond ring. To his surprise, she also bought a diamond ring for him. As it turned out, before Christmas, each of them took one child to shop for the other parent. Since it was a secret, the husband and wife did not know about each other's plan. However, their children had it figured out ahead of time. They were so happy to be involved in the "diamond rings" conspiracy of their parents.

The love between a husband and his wife means a lot to their children. I always admire couples who are still in love as they mature in age. My father- and mother-in-law was such a couple. They were holding hands in their fifties when I first met them. The vision of "having a husband who would still love me and hold my hands in my old age just like them" was one of the main reasons I dared to get marry after only three months of dating. Now after 30 years and five months, I am still witnessing the positive impact of such love on their children and grandchildren.

Copyright © 2006 Winnis Chiang, Parenting ABC