"Golden"

Who are those people?!?!

[Honeymoon photo taken at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago]

Remember when you were young and you saw an announcement in the newspaper about a couple who was celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary? Maybe you looked at the accompanying picture and thought to yourself, “those people are older than dirt.”

You were right.

It’s been a (long) while since I’ve penned a Soliloquy. Among all the things I’ve discovered about my new role as a self-published author is that it takes an enormous amount of time and energy to manage all of it—correspondence and promotion and planning and book signings and ongoing learning and, most importantly, writing my second novel (which I finished last month—no launch date yet). For the most part, it’s been an incredibly positive experience, and I don’t regret for a moment that I dived headfirst into this fiction writing pond/lake/river/ocean. I’ve “re-upped” with selfpublishing.com (formerly Self-Publishing School) for another year, and they’re helping me get the sequel to My Mother’s Friend on Amazon and much more (including marketing this time—yay!). Zoom helps me stay connected with my sp.com family (usually six hours a week), and I’m also Zooming once a month with my coach Ramy who lives in Edinburgh. (If you’re interested or curious, he writes urban fantasy under Ramy or R.E. Vance.) I’ve also attended several webinars and virtual conferences over the past year and a half, and to date, I’ve joined seven launch teams.

Amid all this book stuff (and the good Lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise), Joe and I will reach our golden wedding anniversary in two days (August 11th). We have no plans other than a nice dinner out and maybe a movie. (We’re still deciding.) We’ll be traveling in October and November, so we’re saving up for that. Some of you have been with us for all fifty years and longer. Others joined our journey along the way, and still others don’t know us from Adam. As I gathered all the images for this blog (and there are a lot, sorry—50 years, remember—some of you may find your own happy faces below), I noticed four things (well, a lot more than four, but four stood out):

1. We moved everything we owned twelve times.

2. We love dogs, especially our own.

3. We’ve been places, including ten round trips across the pond to Europe.

4. And a major dilemma: should I wear my hair long or short or curly or straight or blond or not blond?

Joe and I were both born and raised in small Iowa cities that host the Des Moines River (Fort Dodge and Ottumwa). We met at the University of Iowa in 1970, but we probably laid eyes on each other two years earlier when we both attended the U of I’s All State Music Camp. (Actually, Joe remembers me but I don’t remember him. That summer, he was a mile away in the Gold Band’s euphonium section while I sat with all the other trombone players.) Three weeks after our wedding, Joe hopped on a bus to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri where, thanks to Uncle Sam, he got a nice haircut. (Okay, not nice, but it certainly was short.)

In April 1981, we boarded a KLM 747 in Chicago for our first flight (of eight, eventually) to Amsterdam. That week, we met our dear friends Hans and Ieke. They’re planning to visit us in SWVA next spring. After Bart (Dog #8) greets them at the door, they will have met all eight of our dogs. Besides a handful of close family members, can any of you claim the same? We think not, but we’re not 100% sure about that.

We began our married life in Virginia, but eventually, we returned to Iowa. In 1981, we landed in South Texas, and two years later, we moved to Oklahoma. California came next, then back to Iowa, back to Oklahoma, and finally, we returned to Virginia where we chose to live out our years surrounded by the beautiful Blue Ridge and Appalachian Mountains.

We are grateful for much—a loving family; close friends and even those who aren’t as close; opportunities to thrive, to learn, to worship, to believe, to grow, to question, to argue, to dream, to write. Staying married to the same person for fifty years is quite an accomplishment. For us, the recipe for getting there involves commonalities. After that, we stir in some patience and tolerance and support, and we sprinkle it with a little humor and audaciousness. And we try hard to agree on the really important stuff, like, what color to paint the laundry room. Oh, and did I mention love and respect? Surely, those are the main ingredients.

While we admit it hasn’t been total joy and bliss—life happens—it is incredibly satisfying, knowing the decision to say "I do" when we were young was the right decision. I’ve never regretted it. (Just checked with Joe; he concurs.)

Our journey to The Big Five Oh

***[Some collages require scrolling to the right.]***

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Our European adventures (1981, 1986, 1991, 1996, 1999, 2001, 2007, 2008, 2010) (represented below: The Netherlands, Sweden, England, Germany, Italy)

August 2013—Celebrating our 40th anniversary in The Netherlands and Scotland

June 2015—Our cruise to Alaska's Inside Passage

And last, but certainly not least, our wonderful dogs: Igor, Gertie, Millie, Chessie, Belle, Jenny, Lucky, and Bart

Blessings to all.

--Sally

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Sally Jameson Bond is retired and lives in southwest Virginia with her husband Joe and Bart, Dog Number 8. Her debut novel, My Mother’s Friend, is available on Amazon here: www.mymothersfriendbook.com. You can also find her web site here: www.sallyjamesonbond.com.