married at least 80 years

when handsome husband and i married we determined to be married at least 80 years.  we'd each come from divorced families.  his parents divorced when he was 4 months old and mine when i was 20.   we determined that in the Lord and to the best of our abilities we would stay married.  our goal was at least 80 years even though marrying at 25 and 28 that would make us 105 and 108 respectively!

but then a year or so into our marriage, hh came to me and said "honey, we've set our sights too low" and showed me an article of a couple who'd been married 80 years.  throughout our 26 years of marriage he has continued to bring me articles from the paper, magazines or off the internet of couples who've met our goal of 80 years  - a source of encouragement to say the least but also a wink from God about the 80 years goal we set!

i've kept several of the articles. one in "world" magazine reads:  

eighty and counting.  

love and marriage go together like a horse and carriage. which may or may not have been what frank and anita milford drove away from their wedding ceremony on may 26, 1928, in torpoint, a village in southwest england.  in may the couple celebrated their 80th wedding anniversary in the plymouth nursing home where they both live.  mrs. milford says the pair met in 1926 at ymca dances while attempting to foxtrot.  "he used to step on my feet." mrs. milford, now 99 said. mr. milford, now 100 made up for it, though: she still wears the engagement ring costing six pounds that he bought her. 

a second article from the washington times off the internet, september 7, 2006 reads:

harve de grace, md 

couple marks 80 years together

margaret and donald mergler's relationship got off to an underwhelming start when he took the wheels off her toy baby carriage to make a scooter when they were in grade school - during the wilson administration.  "i didn't think too much of him then,"  mrs. mergler says of the boy who grew into the man she married in 1926. she does now. on monday, the merglers marked their 80th wedding anniversary, and the husband and wife - both 98 years old - are likely the oldest living couple in the united states.  mr. and mrs. mergler were both born in harvre de grace, a historic small town that smells of fresly cut grass and sits about 30 miles north of baltimore.

a third (faux) article was written september 20, 2006 by hh and sent to me via email with the above article included at the top and this one at the bottom: 

arkansas democrat-gazette

couple marks 80 years together

january 3, 2063

little rock, ar 

catching some z's and hh (code names used to protect the innocent) marked their 80th wedding anniversary yesterday and are probably the oldest living couple in the united states. mr. and mrs. hh both grew up in little rock and have lived here the past 72 years since 1991......

hh, i think i'll keep him - at least for 80 years!