We've only just begun...

Today is my parents' 30th Wedding Anniversary

I'm listening to their wedding song - The Carpenters 'We've Only Just Begun'

The traditional gift is pearl, but funnily enough the modern day has diamonds for 30 years - does that mean its harder to be married for 30 years nowadays? Or just not as likely? Either way I hope Daddy Burgess has dusted off his credit card and treated Dawny to something fancy.......

They're spending a few days at a caravan on Anglesey

Personally I would prefer pearls but maybe in 25 years a few days in a tiny caravan with Allan will be of more value to me than pearls.....I'm so glad I bought those pearls on my honeymoon! (which Jacob recently broke)

By the way, mum and dad went on a big cruise in April so Dad's credit card is probably more rusty than dusty!

Enough of my {lack of} humour. Its late and I do have something serious to write....

When thinking about pearls I found this poem, I've heard it before. The author remains anonymous but if I were him (or her) I would put my name to this. Its a good one:

There once was an oyster, whose story I'll tell
Who found that some sand, had gotten into his shell
It was only a grain, but gave him great pain
For oysters have feelings, although they are plain

Now, did he berate the harsh workings of fate
That had brought him to such a deplorable state?
"No", he said to himself, "Since I cannot remove it",
I'll lie in my shell, and think how to improve it",

The years rolled around, as the years always do,
And he came to his ultimate destiny .... stew.
Now the small grain of sand that had bothered him so,
Was a beautiful pearl all richly aglow,

This tale has a morale, for isn't it grand,
What an oyster can do with a morsel of sand?
Think...what could we do, if we'd only begin,
With some of the things that get under our skin

So this kind of ties in with marriage. I'm not saying that marriage is a constant bother and brings pain, more that it takes time for something so small to become something so beautiful, precious and valuable. This can be applied to so many things - work, study, relationships, children, callings....etc etc

There will be occasional days when things will irritate you, but if we have the attitude of always trying to improve on these things then hopefully we will see many pearls in our lives.

Like my mum and dad.

They are both pearls.

My dad is one of the most patient people I've ever met. Mr Patience. He is amazing with my boys and will happily spend hours playing with Seth, laughing at things that would drive me mad. He is also Mr Diligent, he was the Bishop and worked away from home for a big chunk of my childhood and most of my teenage years. But he always left for meetings with a smile on his face, and now that he works from home he never clocks in/out early or leaves his desk (even if Seth is around bugging him to come and build a car park!)

Mum is Mrs Helpful. Always doing something for someone else - cooking, cleaning, sewing, washing, ironing, listening, taxi-ing, babysitting. She is amazing, and has so many talents. Useful talents. Because she didn't have an amazing education she doesn't feel talented but I am so grateful that she taught me to cook/clean/sew - all of the above. I would prefer those talents to a degree in something impractical. Every talent and skill that I have, I have learnt from her, or because of her driving me to lessons/exams. She is also Mrs Patience for sitting and teaching me these things, and raising 5 children alone Mon-Fri during the years when Dad was working away.

I can honestly say that I have no memory of them ever arguing

Here they are - tourist style!

What a great example they are to me. I hope that one day my children can say the same about mine and Allan's marriage. We're no way near perfect but, like the oyster, we are working really hard at improving things and making that pearl

Mum and Dad - I love you. Thank you. For everything x