PEARL OF GREAT PRICE

We saw an Elvis impersonator on Tuesday and attended a symphony on Friday.  It seemed like a fitting way to celebrate the week of our thirty-fifth wedding anniversary since he’s a little bit rock and roll and I’m a little bit classical.  The two different musical venues represent our Mars-Venus relationship and being a good sport is part of the deal when it comes to marital bliss.  I sang along with the “King” on Elvis night and my husband did not yawn during the quiet parts at the symphony.  

Now gifts are also important in our annual celebrations.  I keep up with the traditional wedding anniversary gift ideas (promoted by greeting card companies but still fun) because I like the way each anniversary is commemorated with something special that symbolizes how many years a couple has been married.  When we celebrated our thirtieth wedding anniversary five years ago I told my husband it was a rather sad anniversary because now I knew how to measure thirty years, and the years are passing so quickly!  To cheer me, my wonderful husband gave me a beautiful strand of pearls to remember our special occasion. 

You probably know that a pearl comes from an oyster dealing with aggravation.  The oyster's natural reaction is to cover up the irritant with layers of the same nacre substance that is used to create the shell. This process eventually forms a masterpiece.  I think the story of the pearl’s development is a keen comparison to marriage since just as the oyster’s creative toil deals with an irritant and produces something beautiful and precious, so it seems that a couple must also suffer the angst of making a “pearl of great price” out of their marital irritations.  I shared this analogy with my husband and he just slowly shook his head without identifying which of us is the oyster and which one of us is the irritant.

My friend told me she read in a marriage counseling book that successful marriages are made by two people that like each other slightly better than they dislike each other.  Okay, that makes sense.  And speaking about likes and dislikes, my husband found out Elvis is returning for another encore performance!  He thinks it would be fun to go to the concert with the newlyweds.  Yes, let’s introduce our BDIL (beautiful daughter-in-law) to another Campbell ritual that includes romantic phrases like “she ain’t nothing but a hound dog” sung by a middle-age man with long sideburns and a hairy chest – it’s a family memory that is sure to become a classic!