Hand In Hand

In this day and age, when divorce rates are seemingly high, marriages are often on the rocks, and relationships are solely based on superficial foundations such as physical attributes and wallet thickness, it becomes a breath of fresh air when you see telltale signs of seasoned unions. Weathered partnerships such as this are built upon solid foundations that consist of unconditional love and companionship, communication, honesty, and two souls that, through time, create a self feeding machine - one where each half inspires, supports, understands, accepts, and respects the other in order to maintain a forward and progressive direction. When a couple is still willing to walk near one another hand in hand, especially when done after years and years of trials and tribulations, it is clear they are happily married.

The hands depicted above are those of Arlene and Martin. Their love has endured the good and bad, thick and thin, and the ups and downs associated with everyday life; and have done so together through 54 years of marriage - they've known each other even longer. And yes, their hands have been together for just as long, both literally and figuratively speaking. Their love, hands, and eyes have experienced life happily together from the exotics of Nepal to the thick jungles of the Amazon. Bonds like this take work and need a solid foundation in order to survive, but most importantly, they require searching from deep within and an open and honest heart from the start.

Their love, memories, happiness and sadness, companionship, and their authenticity are what made this blip today. I wish them many more years of happiness, love, companionship, and successful marriage. May they continue to inspire younger generations to seek for something more in their relationships and marriages so they too can experience and endure life through true love; hand in hand...