1 down, 3652 to go

Here's a footnote to yesterday's 60th annversary post:

Ellie wore her original engagement ring and wedding ring set for 56 years, from 1963 until 2019. Four years ago we began a weight-loss program that has been wildly successful, resulting in substantial reduction in avoirdupois for both of us. Along the way, more than waistlines became smaller. Ellie could no longer wear her rings because they kept falling off her fingers.

Ellie didn't want to have her rings resized. She put them away in her jewelry box and began wearing her mother's plain gold band instead, which fit perfectly. Still, I didn't want to let our 60th anniversary, our diamond anniversary, slip by without doing the right thing. Hence, she now has her new ring.

Seeing the row of diamonds she exclaimed, "One per decade!" but on closer examination we counted not six stones but seven. "And one to grow on!" she added.

So we have begun workng toward our 70th anniversary. I determined that there are 3,653 days from our 60th anniversary yesterday until our 70th anniversary on May 19, 2033. Do the math: Multiply 365×10 and add 3 more days for the February 29ths in 2024, 2028, and 2032.

Voila! [vwah-LAH] The title of this post practically wrote itself.

Being typically herself, my lovely wife said she would let me be the one who keeps track of our progress. I didn't notice whether she rolled her eyes.

The prospect of reaching our 70th anniversary is really not all that far-fetched. In our small church, there are two couples, both in their nineties, whose marriages have lasted 73 years so far. Maybe there's something in the water around here.