When we had been married for ten years, I could recite what we did to celebrate our anniversary each year. We didn’t always get the celebration on the exact day of our anniversary, but we tried to do something special to recognize the occasion each year. Somewhere along the line, I lost track of the list. After all last night was the day of our 50 year celebration. Susan put on a lovely dress. I put on a suit and tie and we went out to dinner at a local seafood restaurant that is a bit of a splurge for us.

Our 50th has afforded us some opportunities for intimate conversation, but the restaurant last night was noisy enough that it was hard for us to talk. Mostly we just looked at each other and remembered a lifetime of celebrations. At one point in the evening a woman came over to our table and said, ‘I just love to see a man in a bow tie!” I took the compliment, but didn’t know exactly how to respond. I just felt that the occasion warranted a bit of special attire. The restaurant had excellent food and we enjoyed our dinner. The water was curious and efficient. We were in no rush anyway. No one asked us what the occasion that brought us to the restaurant was. We didn’t need to tell anyone. We knew. That was enough.

I know that when we were newly wed, I wouldn’t have had the courage to wear a pink shirt and tie. And I didn’t have a white linen summer suit until just a few years ago. Not that it matters. I did’t dress for the approval of others. I simply wanted to celebrate a milestone with Susan. I don’t care what others thought.

Of course, we made up stories about the other patrons of the restaurant. The couple across the way from us were showing lots of affection. I’m pretty sure that the two girls with them were daughters of the woman but not the man. They weren’t wearing wedding rings. Of course not all couples wear rings, but it is a pretty common symbol. I wonder if there girls were being introduced to the man for the first time. I wonder if they had mixed feelings about the relationship. Of course it could have been a birthday celebration, or a celebration of the end of the school year.

Two couples sat at a table near ours. They obviously had been friends for some time. They greeted each other with hugs. One of the men was dressed in a t-shirt and shorts. The other was dressed in a suit and tie. The meeting was likely at the end of a work day for the man who was dressed up. Perhaps he is a lawyer or judge. I don’t think he is a doctor. Doctors tend to wear short sleeve shirts. Then again I don’t know what his shirt was like under the jacket. The other couple were likely retired and came to the meeting from more leisurely activities.

A family group a ways from us was making a fuss of toasting one another. I think it must have been a special occasion - perhaps a graduation.

Over the years I’ve been in restaurants for a wide variety of occasions. We’ve celebrated graduations. We went out to dinner to celebrate my sister’s engagement. We’ve had special dinners for weddings and anniversaries and a lot of other occasions. Maybe other restaurant patrons were making up stories about us, though I suspect that few actually noticed us.

We said to one another after our family had departed to their regular lives that perhaps this is the last big family gathering that we will host. Next time around perhaps it will be our children who make the arrangements and decide the menus. Maybe they won’t over shoot the grocery shopping as dramatically as we did. We’ve got a freezer full of leftovers and our pantry is well stocked.

I know us, however, a few years will go by and we will regain our enthusiasm for hosting a major family event. It really isn’t that much work, and we’ve taken the rest of this week off from work to recover. All we have to do is prepare a children’s message for worship on Sunday, which is something that doesn’t require major effort after years of experience. After all, in five years we will celebrate 50 years of ordained ministry - another milestone that we didn’t think about much as the years were going by.

We turned in pretty early last night. We didn’t have a reason to stay out late and we were pretty tired. I got in a nap yesterday and I’m thinking that prospects look good for another nap today. I make a show of sitting in my recliner with a book, but soon the words run together and my eyes close and the book falls into my lap. It is pretty quiet at our house now that family members have left for their own lives and activities.

Our daughter, always thoughtful, sent us a bowl of African violets for our celebration. They are the centerpiece of our dining table at the moment. We’ll have to think about where they will find a more permanent home amid the collection of house plants. I’ve never been much at caring for house plants. In recent years, however, I have taken to growing dahlias in addition to the tomatoes, carrots, sunflowers and strawberries in our back yard. I’ve managed to keep a geranium alive so far this summer, something that wasn’t my forte a few years ago. The reality is that we are a lot less busy than was the case a few years ago before we retired to part-time work. Our current job seems to suit us just right, but it will come to an end at the end of July and we haven’t yet discerned what is next for us.

Last night, we were happy not to worry about the future, and to dwell in layer upon layer of memory. We’ve been blessed and we are aware of our privilege. By the way the pink shirt and tie are brand new - I’ve got a lot of years of wearing them ahead of me.