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On the last day
of July, Val and I celebrated our 56th wedding anniversary.
Nobody is more surprised than I am by two facts: that so
much time has gone by so very rapidly, and that we are still
happily, together.
Of course, everyone at the time they take their marriage
vows intends for the marriage to last forever. But a great
many don’t seem to last, so it is a nice surprise
for those of us who, despite the usual rough patches and
statistics to the contrary, not only manage to stick together,
but remain happily coupled.
In some ways, our marriage did not have an auspicious beginning.
Although neither of us were extremely young and already
held good jobs, within a few months of getting married,
both of us became unemployed.
While I managed to find temporary publicity work, Val,
a qualified project engineer, could not find a good opportunity
in New York, but did receive two offers: one in St. Louis
and one in Chicago; he chose the latter.
We were so naive, we never even asked his new employer
about paying for our move, (they would have) but packed
our belongings ourselves. One of my favorite memories is
of my new husband struggling to fashion a cardboard cover
for the ironing board. It took several hours, yards of tape
and quite a few unprintable words on his part before the
job was complete.
In all, we sent 44 boxes, each one packed by us, via parcel
post to Chicago. Now, 56 years and 14 moves later, I’ve
become an experienced moving survivor and use that expertise
as part of my work at Pearce Senior Services, helping others
through the process.
When we arrived in Chicago, it was late at night and raining.
The small apartment-hotel where we had a reservation had
lost its power and looked eerily foreboding in flickering
candlelight.
Famished, and tired after our plane trip, we left the hotel
to search for some nearby place to have a late snack. As
we were walking, the heavens suddenly let loose with a drenching
rain. Exhausted and miserable, I had had all I could take,
and so I stopped dead in my tracks, sobbing uncontrollably
and refusing to take another step unless Val promised to
take me back to New York in the morning.
Of course, by morning when the sun came out, Chicago didn’t
seem quite so terrible anymore. Looking back, I realize
that for some reason, many of our moves coincided with rainy
weather.
Four years and two sons later, we left Chicago for one
year back in New York, and then off to Val’s engineering
assignment in Japan. Upon arrival, we moved into the completely
unsuitable doll-size cottage reserved for us, only to be
hit by the month-long “nyubai,” or Japanese
rainy season.
A more experienced wife by now, I didn’t cry, but
firmly insisted that Val inform the company they needed
to find us a better (translation, American-sized) place
to live.
Our move from Long Island to Connecticut was no cinch either.
I came first in order to accept a job offer, and commuted
weekends for two years until Val was able to join me.
Moving so many times, raising three children and having
a variety of careers has taught me to recognize that life
is a series of changes, so you might as well accept and
try to enjoy whatever advantages each one presents.
I am sure the reason I have been able to weather all the
changes is due in no small measure to the one reliable constant
in my life ... the love and support of a wonderful partner.
Thank you, Val, for 56 exhilarating years.
Jean Cherni is founder of Senior
Living Solutions, a retirement advisory service. Contact
her at jeancherni@sbcglobal.net or 15 The Ponds, Branford
06405.
H. Pearce Company REALTORS®
is a full-service real estate company with more than 100
agents and branch offices in greater New Haven and the Shoreline.
Corporate and & Commercial offices are located in North
Haven, where the company was founded in 1958. All listings
can be found in color on the web at: www.hpearce.com. |
