50+ Lifestyles

A Diamond is Forever

By Dee Deuth, CSA
Weerts Funeral Home

It was a cold Valentine’s evening in Minnesota. The year was 1959. We were both 19 years old and in love
and certainly thought we were more mature than we most likely really were. I was home from business school for the weekend, and Jon came to my parents’ home to pick me up to go out for the evening.

Before I could get my coat, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box and handed it to me. I thought, “Oh, how nice of him, he brought me a valentine.” As I opened the box I found a jewelry box and, of course, upon opening it there was a beautiful diamond ring. To my eyes it was beautiful (and still is), and I accepted, after which he placed the ring on my finger. We were engaged!

Chaos ensued. My mother sat down on the sofa and started to cry.  My dad (a salesman) began to talk “some sense into us” with the usual “parents of teenagers” lecture about being only teenagers; that it was just “Puppy Love” and that we were really too young to make such a monumental, lifetime commitment; for goodness sake we had our whole lifetimes ahead of us!

However, I’m sure they had known for some time that this was going to happen and, no doubt, had discussed between themselves how they would need to accept the inevitable. And Dad had probably practiced his sales pitch. All in all, it made for a very emotional and memorable evening.  It wasn’t many days before they accepted the fact that a wedding would be a fun event, and they became happily involved in the planning.

The scripture used in our wedding ceremony was the familiar “Love Chapter,” I Corinthians 13.  It talks about love being patient, kind, forgiving, always believing the best and continuing to hope for the best. That love never fails.

Of course, like any relationship we have not always been patient, kind and instantly forgiving. However, we have taken the advice from an old gentleman who told us at our wedding to never go to sleep angry with each other but always try to resolve our differences before day’s end. That was good advice we have attempted to follow.

Many Valentine’s Days have come and gone since that eventful evening. We married in August, 1960 and recently celebrated our 55th Wedding Anniversary. And that “Puppy Love” is now getting to be an “Old Dog,” but it is a healthy and happy animal that still has a vibrancy and strong commitment to each other, forgiving and forgetting when necessary just like a puppy.

We enjoy being together just like a dog enjoys being with his owner. We often anticipate each other’s thoughts before they are voiced, just like Old Fido.  When one of us has been gone, if even for a short time, the other happily greets the returning person just like an “Old Dog” greets his family members.  And if one falls asleep watching TV, the other reads or continues to watch the program quietly, just like a dog would do.  We’re “Old Dogs” for sure – or maybe experiencing 55 years of “Puppy Love.”  Either way, I still believe: “A Diamond is Forever.”  And “True Love Never Fails.”

Thank you for reading 50+ Lifestyles Magazine!  Have a wonderful February.