A LIGHTER NOTE: Future was golden when parents wed

WHEN my parents galloped obliviously down the aisle, marriage was a fairly easy thing to get into, but nearly impossible to get out of; much like Facebook.

THIS week my parents celebrate their golden wedding anniversary, and to mark the occasion, a card from the Prime Minister will be arriving to congratulate them. No doubt this will start another one of their squabbles.

How things have changed since that sunny January day back in 1966.

When my parents galloped obliviously down the aisle, marriage was a fairly easy thing to get into, but nearly impossible to get out of; much like Facebook.

Back then, apart from a little police action in a far off place called Vietnam, the future was pretty bright.

Polio had been eradicated, work was plentiful and they only needed one modest wage to buy a home and fill it with screaming kids.

Over the years they raised a family and adjusted as massive changes in technology, workplaces and society took place. They lived through the Jet Age, Space Age, Technological Age and now the dis-Information Age.

Somehow they kept plugging away, and after much thought, I decided that the secret to their long marriage must be to accept that your partner is not perfect and, with each passing year, is becoming even less ideal, ie wrinklier, deafer, more annoying, forgetful and snoring louder.

According to my mother, ignoring dad for long periods of time has also helped. My father agreed with her. He does that a lot these days.

So the trick, it seems, is to hang in there and work through your differences together over a long period of time; in their case, possibly another 20 or so years.

Sadly, getting out of a marriage nowadays is about as easy as, and slightly less painful than, changing your phone plan. And that's why many of us won't be getting a letter from the prime minister; whoever that may be next week.

Greg Bray blogs at http://www.gregbraywriter.wordpress.com. Find him on Facebook: Greg Bray - Writer.

Originally published as A LIGHTER NOTE: Future was golden when parents wed