Happy 40th Anniversary, Mom and Dad!

"Do not be afraid. Do not be satisfied with mediocrity. Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." —Pope John Paul II

Mom and Dad we’ve all been talking about you this week. Something about 40 years of marriage. Below are some thoughts and memories we want to share with you. This was Lisette's idea, and what a nice one.

Maureen

By example your marriage and parenting has shown me not only to have faith and patience in my own parenting but for my relationships as well. And just maybe I am a romantic at heart and a cornball because of you two.

Clare

Thank you so very much for all the graces that have come from your 40 years of marriage!  Distilling them down would be an impossible task, but one thing bears mentioning - you both have done such a remarkable job of teaching us all how to love. There is nothing saccharin in that sentiment, for it is no small accomplishment that you have raised a very large and very happy family.  I love and honor you both.  Happy Anniversary!

Annie

I don't know what the single thing that I'm most grateful to Mom and Dad for, there are many.

One that has occurred to me many times though is their humility. Their openness to the possibility of being wrong, of changing, of apologizing. All of it. It sounds so much more mundane writing it, than it was and is living it. But it lets us all feel safe being vulnerable. And I believe that's the TM of our family. Vulnerability that's confident of acceptance.

Mary

It’s a very good thing to grow up around truth. Mom and Dad, we have always known that you place your love for God at the center of your marriage. And when I think of all the things a child learns from his parents, all of it I learned from parents who were trying to love me the way they love God. Do you have any idea what a gift that is? THAT is a foundation to build a family on! You gave us all a leg up on life.

Catherine

I remember when all of us kids got together to plan and perform a variety of skits for Dad's return home from the ship. I especially remember when Mary, Maureen and I performed "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" by the Beatles and we traced our hands and glued them to popsicle sticks as our props. What an awesome night that was!!

Nora

I love that whenever I smell Captain Black, I think of Dad. Even more, I love that the thought that immediately follows the picture of him sitting at the table reading with his pipe in hand, is the picture of the tobacco can in the back of Mom's car.  I can picture her wafting the lid over the contents to give the car a bit of Dad while he was away at sea.  So sweet.

Martha

I remember Mom and Dad's date nights. Something about it was always so sweet, and ... datey. They'd always go to Chinese and talk about how the owners knew them. And Mom, who never drank, would come home slightly tipsy and happy, and kissy. As a mother now, I know it's because she actually missed us. With us all day, all the time, and leave for 2 hours, and she'd miss us. That, coupled with the fact that she had a whopping 2 drinks, and she was kissy and sweet. And I'd love that she just got to go on a date with her husband. I'd love that Dad was home.

I married a good man because of them. I married a man who loves me because I saw how Dad loved Mom. And when Chad and I were saving for the wedding and couldn't afford dates, I'll always remember Mom telling me, "Martha. Everyone can afford Chinese."

Lisette

I love how Mom defers to Dad, even when it’s obnoxious and I'm pretty sure he's wrong. It showed me how important it is to show that you're behind your guy. And Dad's respect for Mom, that I've never heard him say one real negative thing about her, it set the bar for how I want to be treated. 

Aloise

I remember when Mom used to always buy a bunch of Captain Black tobacco for Dad when he was coming home. It felt a lot like wrapping the last few presents on Christmas Eve. And when she would put a little bit of it in a bag in her car, to make it smell like him - I have a lot of memories of that.

  

Brent

The way they can calm me more than anyone else. The worst anxiety or uncertainty, just the voice of Dad or Mom makes me still.

This is 40 years! Happy Anniversary!