Ali's and Mark's speeches for Mom and Dad's 50th Wedding Anniversary - 8/25/07
Ali's speech:
You are two persons, but there is only one life. The life you have shared and will continue to share. May your days together be good and long upon the earth.
The two of you have repeatedly demonstrated that a successful marriage requires falling in love many times...but always with the same person. So, a toast to your 50th year of marriage, a celebration of love, trust, partnership, tolerance and tenacity, the order of which I have learned from my week-shy-of-12-years-of-experience varies for any given year.
Mark's Speech:
While thinking about putting this speech together, I thought I'd take the easy way out and Google the definition of wedded bliss. I found The Wedded Bliss Foundation which promotes marriage in the Black community, I found the Wedded Bliss Magazine where you can announce your engagement , wedding, and anniversary (I think the first thing mom ever said to Lisa, Ali or I was "Do not ever, under any circumstance, put Dad's and my picture in the announcements section of the Daily Times), and I found WeddedBlissRaratonga.com which is for those that want a beautiful tropical wedding in the Cook Islands. But, I couldn't find a simple definition of wedded bliss. Then I had a V8 moment and realized that the definition is right here at our table. I think Cheryl says it best, "Mom and dad have this wedded bliss thing down."
How do I put 50 years of marriage, 3 children, 8 grandchildren, Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, brisses, graduations, concerts, plays, dance recitals, piano recitals, swim meets, soccer, football, basketball and baseball games, tennis matches, golf matches, happy times and sad times into a 2 minute speech?
And, it gets even more complicated when I realize that I'm trying to talk about two people that have lots of aliases; Mr. and Mrs. Palmer, Phyllis and Boyd, mom and dad, grandma and grandpa, and aunt Phoo and Uncle Boyd. But, regardless of how you refer to them, regardless of where you see them, you see two people that have a profound effect on everyone whose lives they touch. You see party people. You see entertainers. You see bosses, you see coaches, and you see teachers. You see Presidents of this, and Chairman's of that. For those of us here tonight, we see parents, grandparents and close friends that have a tireless, uncompromising love for each other, for their children and for their grandchildren and are an inspiration and motivation to each one of us.
We're here tonight because mom and dad are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. Lots of people would probably think that they're the lucky ones. But we know who the real lucky ones are. It's us. Each one of us here tonight, because we get to celebrate being part of their lives.
Mom and Dad, I've talked about who you are. Now let me tell you what you mean to Lisa, and Ali and me and to our spouses, Dan, Cheryl and Dennis, who are not just our spouses, but are your children, too. You have shown us the tradition of family, and being there for one another. You inspire, you motivate, and you encourage.
And let me tell you what you mean to Adam and Max, to Jess, Em, Garrett, Sam, and to Molly, and Shannon. You bring into their lives the traditions of love and putting family first, traditions that began years ago with Nam and Gramps and Bamma and Bamps, and I'll bet, their parents before them.
Mom and Dad, tonight we wish you a very happy 50th anniversary. We wish for you, and for all of us, the opportunity to celebrate many, many more of these special occasions together. We love you, we respect you, we admire you, we appreciate you and all you do for us, and...did I say we love you? Happy Anniversary.
