I went to a wedding last month and the DJ called all of the married couples out to the dance floor. Year by year he asked people to leave who had been married less than “X” years. 5 years past and all the young couples had left the dance floor. 20 years went and the DJ was excited to see the amount of married couples still standing. After 35, there were only a few people out on the floor and dancing. After 40, there was one couple still standing. My Grandparents have been married for 51 years.

They have loved each other for more than half a century. They have been together for more than half of their lives. They have been my inspiration for my entire life. For twenty years, my grandparents have been a role model for what it means to love somebody. They have shown me that a strong relationship consists of compromise, honesty, trust and most importantly love. They have taught me that the little things matter.

Obviously, no relationship is perfect. But for better or for worse, my grandparents have never given up on each other. For richer or for poorer they have stood by each other. In sickness and in health, they have loved each other. What makes their relationship so beautiful is not their perfection. Rather their strength and unity despite life’s imperfections.

I’ve always known that I was lucky to have them. As individuals they inspire me. My grandmother is everything that I strive to be as a woman and family member. My grandfather is the strongest man I know and I have always admired him. They have always been my role models. It wasn’t until recently that I realized, not only am I lucky to have these role models in my life as individuals but I am privileged to have their marriage as a guide for what love and relationships should look like.

A privilege, growing up as your granddaughter has been a privilege. I am privileged to have grown up in a family where love is realistic and alive. In today’s society love is not present in every household. Some moms and dads live in different states. Divorce, separation and staying together out of sheer obligation are things that dominate our society today. So when I say that I am privileged I truly mean that. To have a love to look up to, to know that love exists, to know that love is worth looking for, fighting for; is a privilege.

So to my grandparents, thank you. Thank you for showing me that love is worth the wait and the work. Thank you for showing me that for better or for worse there is someone who will be worth fighting for and worth spending the rest of my life with. Thank you, because of all the lessons you have taught me this may be the one that I hold on to the hardest and never let go of.

My hope is that 51 years from my wedding day, my husband will look at me the way Pop-pop looks at you. I hope that when my husband comes home from work, I can read him as well as Grammy reads you. That my husband and I can know what each other is thinking before we speak. I hope that on my wedding day I can make you proud. I hope that whatever love I attain in my life reflects the value that you have taught me a relationship should have.

Love. It’s one of the most beautiful and confusing things that we as human beings feel. Thank you for providing a foundation that allows me to believe in the beauty of it.