Lynnda and I have done a prolonged celebration of our 50th wedding anniversary.

This only happens once, and we wanted to enjoy it to the max. We started in mid-June with a second honeymoon to Disney World and dinner at the top of the Contemporary Resort. The weekend of the actual anniversary date we had a special cake and celebration with our church family. Last weekend, Lynnda and I celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary with our three children and most of our grandchildren at a mutually convenient resort since they all live out of state.

That’s why I do the work I do at Shale Crescent USA. Our children each left West Virginia after college to find jobs that weren’t available here. Our two great-grandchildren and three grandchildren live too far away to make the weekend trip. We celebrated with them on previous trips.

With the children grown it is always special when we can gather again as family. We enjoyed Fourth of July Fireworks, played golf, did a morning run with our daughter and granddaughter, relived fun family memories, hung out, swam and did a special celebration dinner on Saturday night. I even got to play chess with my grandson, Nick. A very good player.

One of my memories was how Lynnda and I met. My first job out of college was working for Halliburton in Albion, Michigan. I found a comfortable small apartment on Michigan Avenue, rarely occupied because I was working 60-80 hours a week and hanging out with new friends at bars after work. One of my new friends, Harry, said he was renting a house in the country about 10 miles out of town and looking for a roommate. I pondered giving up my predictable comfortable life in town, close to work and walking distance to the bars for the unknowns of country life. A big change for a suburban guy. Taking a chance, I moved in with Harry.

My first problem living in the country was falling asleep. It was too quiet. Lying in bed, all I could hear were crickets and frogs. In town, on Michigan Avenue, traffic was constant. The noise didn’t bother me.

Harry wasn’t a great housekeeper. After being out of town all week, coming home Harry was usually gone. There wasn’t a clean dish. All were in the sink. The cats were walking on top of them licking the leftovers. The closest grocery store and restaurant were back in town. I didn’t know we were also responsible for things like cutting the grass. That became my job. Not exactly the way I wanted to spend my day off. We did have a riding lawnmower.

Our closest neighbor was a trailer next door. On one of my grass cutting days, my neighbor was out cutting her grass. She was about my age and very attractive. I was shy or too afraid of rejection to even introduce myself. The next time I cut our grass, I cut part of hers. The following weeks I cut larger portions of her grass.

Lynnda eventually offered me a glass of water. The rest is history.

My friends at work wondered why they hadn’t seen me in town on weekends. Lynnda and I dated about six months. We got engaged in February and married in June. Harry was the best man. We had a second reception for my family and friends in Pittsburgh. Then to the Poconos for our honeymoon and back to Pittsburgh the following weekend, where I was best-man at my best friend Rick’s wedding.

Fifty years have flown by. Three children, seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren later, it has been quite an adventure. We were young when we married. I had a lot to learn. We learned to be tolerant and communicate. I traveled a lot for work. There were financial and health challenges.

Gregory, our youngest, had major surgery at 10 weeks. We became closer as a couple. I had several transfers in a short period of time — first to Columbus, Ohio, then Wooster, Ohio, and finally Elkview, West Virginia, all in a five-year period.

Home interest rates were in the 14% range. Shortly after moving to West Virginia, Lynnda’s mother had a serious stroke and moved in with us. I was unexpectedly diagnosed with cancer.

Lynnda dealt with it all. I learned how strong she is.

It’s amazing how things work out. Surgery and radiation cured my cancer. In the process, we met a group of doctors who needed a nurse. Lynnda was an LPN. They hired her. We also became friends with the doctors and their families.

Lynnda went back to school part-time while working and raising a family to become a registered nurse. Even though partially paralyzed, Lynnda’s mother watched the kids and even had dinner ready when we both got home from work.

On Dr. Willie and Dee Jolley’s weekly Jolley Marriage Show a couple of week’s ago, Willie asked me tell his audience three reasons we have been together for 50 years. I shared:

∫ Lynnda and I have the same values. We are different in many ways and compliment each other. We agree on the values important to us like faith, family, trust and mutual respect.

∫ We took our marriage vows seriously. “‘Til death do us part.” We weren’t going to just “see how things work out.” When we face challenges, Lynnda and I work through them. We don’t quit on each other. We both expected to be married for 50 years, as long as we were both alive.

∫ We made God an equal partner in our marriage.

We hope these thoughts are helpful to you.

Our marriage has been an adventure, only getting better with time. We didn’t expect to be traveling the world together at this point in our lives, working to help bring high-wage jobs to our region.

I’m glad I got out of my comfort zone, moved to the country and had the courage to ask Lynnda out for the first time.