60th Anniversary - A Toast

Something special happened today.  But in a way, it happens all the time.

We are here to mark the day 60 years ago that Margaret Brenner and Robert Rogers promised to love and cherish each other for the rest of their lives.

Two of us in the room today were lucky enough to witness that first promise. But all of us are lucky because we got to watch through the years as they made that promise real, over and over again.  In the good times, in the bad times – which make you dizzy as they flip flop back and forth with astonishing speed – they always chose to make the promise again.

All of us have heard the questions about growing up in a family with so many children. How many bottles of milk, loaves of bread, loads of laundry, bedrooms and bathrooms did it take? 

What people didn’t ask, what they couldn’t ask was – how much love did it take?  How many sleepless nights, hearts full of pride, minds full of worry, and prayers to the almighty does it take to raise a family like yours?

To say that they couldn’t have known what they were getting into back in 1951 is to put it mildly.  But very quickly after they were married, they moved away from family and friends and had to figure out what they were made of.  And they did. They figured out that when they worked together as a team, when they put their promise into action, they were capable of doing amazing things; for their community, for their church and for their family.  And they kept making that choice again and again – in the privacy of their own hearts. 

Today we got to watch as they made their promise again, and it was a very special moment to share with them.    

And so I am thrilled to ask you to raise your glasses with me:

Mom and Dad, you are surrounded in love and admiration by your brothers and sisters, your children, your grandchildren and your great grandchildren.  We honor you for your promise to each other, for your fidelity to that promise, and for all of your remarkable achievements.  We congratulate you as you celebrate your 60^th Wedding Anniversary.