Canadian Dragonfly

Building Bridges between East and West through Education and Cultural Exchange

Canada--Culture Life in Canada Personal 

Celebrating Long Life Together

Prof Ron , , , , ,
For Chinese translation, click here. 中文翻译，点击这里
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Do opposites attract?

Anniversaries come every year, but some are more special than others.

A few days ago my wife and I were reflecting on our decision so many years ago to marry and live together. At times we joke with our friends that we continue to be in a lengthy period of “marriage adjustment.” People commonly enjoy the romance, choose to marry, and engage in a life-long commitment to support each other, but most of us experience many difficulties along the way.

A popular personality test, called Myers/Briggs, is often administered to people working together in organizations (such as government or business departments). Many years ago when Roberta and I took the test, our personalities were described as “extreme opposites.” Maybe, like magnets, such forces of attraction helped bring us together and has kept us together over this long period of 55 years! Each of us has brought some different contributions to our marriage and family life.

An emerald anniversary

This was our year to celebrate an Emerald Anniversary. Actually, I knew about Silver (25), Gold (50), and even Diamond (60), but Roberta informed me we were celebrating Emerald this year.

But are we really that old? Our big marriage event doesn’t seem nearly so long ago!! We were just twenty-one when we “tied the knot.” Our ages now (2018)? Seventy-six.

In our culture it is not common to have parties to celebrate 55-year anniversaries. We had a nice celebration for our Fiftieth which included a small family reunion and a garden party with a few local guests. This time, we chose a more private time: a weekend trip back to our honeymoon destination, the City of Winnipeg in the neighbouring province of Manitoba.

Our beginnings

By today’s standards, we were not from well-to-do families—maybe just rather normal middle-class type people from small communities. However, at age twenty-one, we already had a good start in our careers. Yes, it seems rather surprising to people now, but at that time it was common to marry quite young.

In one important sense, we were ready to get married. Roberta had just finished nurses training and she was now a qualified RN (Registered Nurse). She had been an excellent student and was promised a job immediately after graduation from the University Hospital in Saskatoon. We planned our wedding just a few weeks after her graduation and just a week before I (Ron) returned to university to finish my Education degree. I had already completed a two-year teacher training certificate and had already taught school for one year. We were both confident that our training had prepared us for good careers and, luckily for us, jobs were available. We were born just ahead of the famous Baby Boom (the surge in larger numbers of children born to parents who married at the end of World War II). Canada needed both nurses and teachers. It was a good time to start a career and a life together.

Return trip to our honeymoon destination

So this year we returned for a few days to Winnipeg. We visited some sites we had visited 55 years before. We visited a new museum of current national interest, the Canadian Museum of Human Rights. Someone took our picture at the top level of the building, overlooking the Red River. The museum is located just next to a small national park known as The Forks.

I also chose to buy some jewelry for Roberta, something to remind us of this return to our honeymoon destination. Our ideas for celebrations now are much more modest than in those earlier years. In fact, my father-in-law thought it was better that we marry sooner rather than later, so we actually went into debt to buy our stylish wedding rings!! Now we focus on things that are necessary and practical, but a small gift still seemed appropriate this time.

Anniversary day events back home

Back home in Regina, on Sunday, September 16, we received phone calls and visits from family and received a gift of a large floral bouquet. It continues to sit on our dining room table with just a few cards of congratulation.

On that same Sunday in our little church, with many friends in attendance, I stood to say something during our open Sharing Time.  To everyone gathered, I expressed my appreciation for a good wife who had walked with me through the good and not-so-good times over our fifty-five years. The group gave us a round of applause.

Photos to share

I’m collecting some photos from our wedding time and a few more describing family times over the years that have followed. I am scanning photos and uploading them to albums here on my blog. Some of you from other parts of the world may find our marriage and family traditions to be of interest.

Below, I include a link to my next blog where I will tell you something of the early history of Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Links that tell more of our story as a couple and family.

First published: 2018/09/20
Latest revision: 2021/01/09