It’s a long held debate whether or not old vines truly do make the best wines, and how many years qualifies a vine for the term “old”.  Some say at least 50 years or more, others say over 25 is long enough!  What is most interestingly true though, the older the vines the more precious the fruit.  When a wine receives the label “old vines” the consumer anticipates a mature and rewarding experience.

How like marriage this metaphor is!

I remember when my parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary we realized that all of us sitting around the table with them had many years of marriage ourselves:  My sister and her husband had been married 24 years, both my brother and his wife as well as Tom and I had been married 18 years, and my Dad’s brother and his wife had been married 56 years!  That’s 166 combined years of marriage represented in only 5 couples!  What a legacy for our children and grandchildren.  What an unusual occurence in this day and age.

Who in your life has demonstrated a marriage of longevity?  Let’s take some time and honor them here on this blog for committing their lives to each other and their marriage.  Let’s celebrate the precious fruit of  their tried and true vines by placing a well-earned label of excellence by their names.  We’ll go first – you can follow by commenting to this post and we’ll add your names to the list!

• Stan and Lee Gray – married 57 years
• William and Grace Oswalt – married 58 years
• Guy and Dolores Germain – married 36 years
• Richard and Jill Walter – married 34 years
• Bill and Susan McEachnie – married 31.5 years
• Tom and Debi Walter – married 30 years
• Ken and Ann Ishmael – married 58 years
• Arnold and Paula Gray – married 40 years
• Fred and Wilma Davis – married 63 years