Valentine’s Day is all about love and romance, but what makes a great love story? In movies and literature it’s often about overcoming great obstacles and beating the odds to be together. Or, making a great sacrifice and giving up your one true love for the greater good.
I’m a sucker for a good love story; Pride and Prejudice—both Jane Austen’s classic novel and several movie versions—is a personal favourite.
But, if I’m looking for a tale of true love in real life, I need look no further than my mom and dad.
They met back around 1953 when they both worked at the TD bank in downtown Montreal. In my dad’s words, “I noticed a great pair of legs in a little red suit walk by, and that was it…” They were married in 1956 and over the past 55-plus years they raised three daughters, became amazing grandparents and have weathered everything that life has thrown at them with grace, dignity and a strong faith.
My sisters and I are very fortunate to have them as role models for our own marriages, especially these days.
One of the things I love most about my parents’ relationship is that even after all these years, they genuinely love spending time together. How many couples, after more than five decades of marriage, still hold hands as they stroll through the mall?
If that’s not a classic love story, I don’t know what is.