July 2nd — Happy 50th Wedding Anniversary to my parents. We just spent the week in Colorado celebrating this milestone and enjoying the cooler weather. We had a great time but it’s sobering to realize that Greg and I will have to live to age 84 to see our 50th anniversary. As our 10th approaches in October, this past year has made me appreciate the wedding vows of “better or worse, richer or poorer, in sickness or in health.” As one friend said about the challenging nature of staying married in an expendable culture, it’s easy to stay married when things are great and money and health are abundant. That’s why the marriage vows list the hard times because those are the moments that test a relationship. Greg and I tried to maintain a dark sense of humor about my illness. This past year whenever something went wrong that wasn’t health-related, I would look at him and say, “at least we have our health…” and we would both laugh at the absurdity of the moment.