Yeah, I'm slow. But this is the speech, and sums up how their children feel about them:
Dear Mom & Dad,
On behalf of all of us, your sons & daughters, I want to thank you and congratulate you on this momentous occasion.
You are two very different people, in so many ways, yet you've managed to be married for 35 years, and very happily so! You had some hard times, but most of the memories are good ones. Through communication, through action, and through faith, you've modeled for us the even balance that two people can have when they've committed their lives to each other for the duration of the journey. You've shown us that it's never too late to try something new, there's no shame in quitting, or in failing if you've tried your best.
You've always shown love. To each other, to us; in anger, in happiness, in hurt and in joy. No matter what happened in our family, that one thing has remained constant. We have never felt that you didn't love each other more than anyone else in the world, and we were always included in that unconditional love.
You've always shown us acceptance, and furthermore, you've shown by doing. We were raised to communicate, to listen, to differ, and to accept. Above all, to see the person within ~ as you saw each of us for the unique people we are, no matter what surprises we threw your way. We thank you for that acceptance, to let us be who we are, even if it didn't go according to your hopes. We thank you for letting us learn from our failures, and supporting us every step of the way.
I also want to thank you for passing on three very important things to us: A passion for music, a passion for reading, and care for all living creatures. All of these you've passed onto us through example, which is, without a doubt, the best way to learn.
Throughout your journey, you taught us to live - by living, yourselves. And you continue to do so, every step of the way.
Thank you.
P.S. If you tried downloading the slideshow and it didn't work properly (cuts out after the first few pictures), clear your cache and try downloading it again: http://diary.felineilk.com/35yearslideshow.wmv
On behalf of all of us, your sons & daughters, I want to thank you and congratulate you on this momentous occasion.
You are two very different people, in so many ways, yet you've managed to be married for 35 years, and very happily so! You had some hard times, but most of the memories are good ones. Through communication, through action, and through faith, you've modeled for us the even balance that two people can have when they've committed their lives to each other for the duration of the journey. You've shown us that it's never too late to try something new, there's no shame in quitting, or in failing if you've tried your best.
You've always shown love. To each other, to us; in anger, in happiness, in hurt and in joy. No matter what happened in our family, that one thing has remained constant. We have never felt that you didn't love each other more than anyone else in the world, and we were always included in that unconditional love.
You've always shown us acceptance, and furthermore, you've shown by doing. We were raised to communicate, to listen, to differ, and to accept. Above all, to see the person within ~ as you saw each of us for the unique people we are, no matter what surprises we threw your way. We thank you for that acceptance, to let us be who we are, even if it didn't go according to your hopes. We thank you for letting us learn from our failures, and supporting us every step of the way.
I also want to thank you for passing on three very important things to us: A passion for music, a passion for reading, and care for all living creatures. All of these you've passed onto us through example, which is, without a doubt, the best way to learn.
Throughout your journey, you taught us to live - by living, yourselves. And you continue to do so, every step of the way.
Thank you.
P.S. If you tried downloading the slideshow and it didn't work properly (cuts out after the first few pictures), clear your cache and try downloading it again: http://diary.felineilk.com/35yearslideshow.wmv