Today is my 40th wedding anniversary. And it's also my wife's. Duh. I couldn't have done it without her. We fell in love in 1973, and were married on December 1, 1974, when I was 22 and she was ... younger.

I realize how rare a 40th anniversary is, these days. So, you might wonder: what's the secret?

To start with: Love is vital. Real love.

Forgiveness is just as important. A capacity to give and receive forgiveness is like a car's shock absorbers and overall suspension system - needed to get you over all the bumps and holes and to keep you from careening off the road. And this is especially needed on the wife's part. If I'm at all representative of my gender, husbands can be idiots at time, despite even PhDs in wisdom. 

Communication is also important. Ideally, it magnifies love and makes forgiveness not needed quite as often. Believing in the other person, and in who they most fundamentally are, is another key. Faith is probably the most important of all, at least in our experience - it transcends everything else.

I couldn't let the day pass without acknowledging this milestone here. Thank you, Mary Morris, for hanging in there and helping me to become the person I am now, a much better person - I promise.

Love. As always.

Oh, and you guys reading this - I wish this sort of experience for you - in quality, or quantity, or both!

Enough for now. I gotta go. Champagne awaits. Oh, and Pizza.