I Raise My Glass

Today I am not going to write about me or my journey.  I am here to tell you about two people who are responsible for me "being" at all.  You see today is the 60th Anniversary of the day my Grandma and Grandad were married.  I can't imagine what it is like to live for 60 years let alone be married for 60 years.  Oh, just in case it is not clear, yes they are both alive and, yes they are still married!



I am sure they could do a better job of telling their story but I am here to tell you what I know about them.  I know that as long as I can remember, they always seemed young at heart.  Even as they have aged, they have never become "old fuddy duddys".  Grandad does like to talk about "THE WAR" as he was a small boy in England during World War II.  He still loves watching movies about "THE WAR" (or should I say, "falling asleep to movies about the war".)  But I must give him credit, he is computer savvy, sends and responds to e-mail, uses a webcam and has his own Facebook account.  Oh yeah, and he is one of the biggest fans of Life Reinvented in Phoenix!   Here is his Facebook profile picture taken with his webcam:

Growing up, I always remember Grandma saying, "I don't have an ache or a pain".  She could walk and walk and walk with those long legs of hers.  Back in 2003, I was lucky enough to be in Washington State at the same time as them (they live in the UK, I lived in CA at the time) and we had snow.  I recommended that we make snow angels.  Grandma didn't even hesitate to jump in!  She had never made a snow angel before.

When I was a girl, we used to take all kinds of camping trips and hiking trips and picnics.  I remember these times fondly.  That's me, sitting on my Grandad's shoulders.  I'm sure we must have hiked for miles that day.

My Grandma and Grandad are two wonderful people whom I wish I could spend more time with.  My time with them has always been short due to geographical limits.  When I was small, they lived in the south of England and I lived in the North (7 hours away).  When I was 7, we moved to the USA making our time apart even longer.  I would only see them every couple of years.  They have always been good about visiting as frequently as possible, but in 2007, they made their last journey to the USA.  It has become too difficult for them to travel great distances and deal with the jetlag. 

In the 60 years they have been together they have produced two daughters, who both married and produced two children each.  I have produced two great grandchildren for them and my brother has one on the way.  I was fortunate enough to see them when I visited England last month.  It was such an honor to see them together enjoying their great grandchildren.  I only wish my children could get to know them like I have.

You see, even though there has always been a great distance between us, they have never treated me or my brother any different from their other grandchildren.  When I see them I feel great love for them and I don't think that the distance has ever made a difference other than the great sadness I feel when we have to part ways.

The strength of their marriage and the fact that they have stayed together through all these years has had such an impact on the solidarity of this family.  I hope they realize how truly wonderful their accomplishment is to this grandaughter of theirs!  I love you Grandma and Grandad and congratulations on 60 years!  I raise my glass to you and say, "Cheers!"

Arthur and Dorothy Bagley

Married September 22, 1951