This year will mark 25 years of marriage for my parents, so it is only fitting to highlight the 25 most evident qualities that their marriage possesses. Now I may be a bit biased, but they truly are the definition of happiness when they are together. If I have a marriage someday that even obtains half of these qualities, I will be one happy, content girl. Y'all are goals.

1. Selflessness: Whether it is my dad bringing my mom her coffee to bed in the mornings or my mom listening to hours on hours of Sports Talk radio in the car.
2. Pride: They take pride in everything they do, from running their company together to making sure every last sock in the sock drawer is matched properly.
3. Open-Mindedness: They love hearing each others ideas, and usually they mash them together to form something great.
4. Respect: Even though my dad leaves the toilet seat up, my mom never complains about falling into the water in the middle of the night when she can’t even see her hands in front of her.
5. Kindness: My mom is the most beautiful girl my dad has ever seen, and even when she is not around he makes that very clear to my siblings and I.
6. Humor: They can both crack jokes until one of them pees their pants, it’s my favorite thing to watch.
7. Trustworthiness: I’m pretty sure my dad could tell my mom to jump from a plane without a parachute because he will catch her, and she would do it; that is how much they trust each other.
8. Patience: Sometimes my mom repeats herself seventeen times and we all know it, but Dad pretends like it’s the first time he has heard anything about what she is saying.
9. Togetherness: They work together, they go to our games/events together, they eat every meal together, they travel together, they make decisions together… basically, it is rare to see them apart. They’re the dynamic duo. It’s weird just having one of them around.
10. Bravery: My dad went through a rough time where he lost some siblings and both of his parents; my mom helped him be brave. My mom was scared to send me off to college and cried a lot; my dad helped her be brave.
11. Forgiveness: Although I have never seen these two genuinely fight; I know that they are full of forgiveness. They are quick to forgive, even people outside of their marriage. They don’t hold grudges.
12. Equality: Neither one has more power than the other, they are equal and fair in everything they do.
13. Faithfulness: I have never once had to question whether my parents are faithful in their relationship. I see how they look at each other, there is no doubt in my mind that they have always been and will always be completely faithful.
14. Authenticity: They have weird quirks and ways of doing things that I am convinced no one else does. If people heard the funny voices they make, they would completely understand where I am coming from.
15. Motivation: Good is never good enough for them, they want to be, act, and raise us in the best way that they know how. They are goal-oriented, they do not settle.
16. Accountability: My mom could tell my dad to pick my brother up from practice a week before it is time to get him, and he would still remember. When they ask something of one another the task never gets swept under the rug.
17. Contentment: They live simple lives. Their favorite time of the year is summer, because they can sit on the deck, laugh, and drink a beer together staring out at the lake. They do not falsify their love for each other through material goods.
18. Love: This is one of the most important qualities. I fully believe in love because of them. They complete each other.
19. Honesty: They have instilled this in us since we were born. They do not lie to each other, their customers, their players, their kids, their family members, their friends, even their pets. They are just flat out honest.
20. Gratefulness: My mom could buy my dad a pair of socks for his birthday and he would still look at her like she hung the moon. Same with my mom; they are just happy to be here.
21. Prosperity: They have been successful through work, but that doesn’t matter too much to them. Their idea of prosperity is having good health, trust, happiness, friends, and a family that adores them.
22. Hopefulness: When our family goes through rough patches, whether it be with deaths or sports or even school, they always look for the positives in each situation and maintain a high level of hope.
23. Passion: I have never met a more passionate, “go-all-out” couple than this pair. Whether my mom is making cookies for the PTA or my dad is putting together a presentation for a potential incredible customer, they put everything they have into their work.
24. Contagiousness: Their happiness, love, selflessness, passion, etc. are all so contagious. You can’t be in the same room as my dad without smiling at least once, and you can’t leave a room that my mom is in without feeling happier than you were before.
25. Wisdom: For some reason, they have “been there, done that” for more situations than I ever imagined. I realize this more the older I get, but it still blows my mind. For only being in their late 40s, they are as wise as an elderly couple.