43 Years

It all started in the University of Maryland dining hall. A beautiful, Raven-haired collegiate was lunching in the South Campus dining hall one afternoon with her flock of fellow beauties when a young, confident, fraternity boy from Jersey approached her. Politely, the young lady obliged and allowed the boy and his buddies to join them at the table. After an hour of polite small talk and light flirting, the young lady got up from her lunch, turned away and walked towards the door to leave. In her "hard to get" manner, she strutted out, feeling all too confident herself...only to slip on the cold, freshly-mopped, concrete floor of the dining hall. The slip put the fair and proper beauty right on her back. The smitten fraternity boy from Jersey ran to her side to make sure she was not hurt. They looked at each other and just knew. You could say he swept her off of her feet...

(My parents are the couple on the Left), along with my Dad's kid-sister and her husband:
(Again, the couple on the Left is my parents):
The rest was history, literally. Not five or so years later, the new couple became Mr. and Mrs. Carl Wise on a snowy February morning in 1966. Now, 43 years later, the couple (who still feels and acts like they are 22 years old) counts their blessings daily: five children, seven grandchildren, three states, (only) two houses, abundant extended family...and counting. They have been in the same house for 30-some-odd years. It was the house in which they raised their entire family. All five of us have the same memory of sitting at the top of the stairs on Christmas morning, climbing the big trees in our backyard, walking down the street to Benfield School, riding our bikes to early morning swim practice at St. Andrews Pool in the summer, playing ping-pong in the once-empty basement, etc.


The love they have for everyone around them is contagious. The sacrifices they've made for their family deserve an award. The example they've set in their marriage has proved to be an example to all of us. The love of Christ they posses is brilliantly reflected in everything they do. And 43 years later, they are an example of stability in this world that has confused what a marriage was designed to be.

Congratulations to my Parents, who yesterday celebrated 43 years of marriage. May you have many more!