A couple of months ago my aunt and uncle celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary, sixty years of marriage. Unfortunately my uncle hasn’t been so well and was hospitalised during the anniversary time but they still took heart in the special wishes that came their way. There was a letter from the Queen of England, the Prime Minister of Australia as well as local politicians and many other unexpected well wishers.

During that time I was privileged to spend time with my lovely aunt. Actually she is not really my aunt but is married to my late dad’s first cousin. However, for as long as I can remember my sister and I have always called them Aunty and Uncle. They have been in our lives forever.

Aunty is a special person whom I have looked up to all of my life. She is gentle, intelligent, sophisticated, caring and non-judgemental.  There are some women in the world who have substance, Aunty has more substance than I can ever hope to develop. When faced with difficulty she’s calm, thoughtful, selfless and giving.

Uncle loves to chat about old times, in fact he loves to recall his early days when he was a an accomplished cyclist and has followed the sport closely ever since. Always one to keep the family stories happening, he tells a of the time when he drove my father to the hospital to collect my mother and me after I was born. Recently, one afternoon during a long chat and the telling of the same tale, Uncle recalled the moment when he turned around from the front seat of his car (on this baby collecting mission) to catch the incredulous look on my father’s face as he was handed the baby. Uncle chuckled and said he would never forget that look…! My dad died young and has been gone for thirty-seven years so it was a wonderful story that my uncle generously shared with me.

Yes, there are many memories that cross the decades and there is no doubt that sixty years of marriage is a very long time…