Last week we celebrated the 50th anniversary of our engagement, which happened atop the tower of a castle disguised as the Old Main Building of Utah State University, where we met and fell in love. On that distant day, we colluded with a romantic night watchman who surreptitiously opened the door to the winding staircase to the small balcony atop the tower. There, in a blinding snowstorm, I got on one knee, put a ring on Linda’s finger, and she said “yes.” It was the best day of my life!
It was also the most romantic day, at least until the anniversary last week when we again climbed the tower and reenacted the whole thing and added a couple of rings—the original ring representing the 50 year past, a golden sapphire that we bought in Sri Lanka representing the present of this golden anniversary, and a ruby we found in Thailand representing (as rubies officially do) eternity.
I was as giddy as I was 50 years ago, and as we drove home, we talked about the importance of romance and of keeping it alive in marriage and using it as a love-booster throughout all of the relationships within the family.
More on the whys and the hows of keeping romance alive: