Looking back at 30 years of marriage

Charleswood

Thirty years. Three decades.

That’s how long ago my husband and I got married.

Life was different in 1996. We didn’t own a cell phone, much less the smart kind. We had to make long distance calls that cost money when we were dating. In fact, calling was the thing you did whenever you needed to contact someone quickly. Texting wasn’t even a word.

In fact, email was just emerging as a form of mainstream communication.

Watching movies required a video cassette and player. DVDs were just being invented and streaming was something that water did. Often, you rented a video from a shop or maybe — especially if you were rural folk — you bought them from a mail-order company. TVs were increasing in size, but were nothing like their sleek, high-resolution modern counterparts. And, of course, we never used the word “smart” to describe one.

Cameras used film and phones didn’t take pictures.

The internet was just starting to become worldwide.

People were social. Media wasn’t.

There was hi-fi but no wi-fi.

Amazon was strictly the name of a river and a rainforest. We didn’t shop online. We went to the mall.

Cars ran on gasoline or diesel. We didn’t call any of them smart either.

McDonald’s could still count the number of burgers sold.

If intelligence was called for, it was always real, not artificial.

So much has changed in the last 30 years.

Including us! We’ve changed in body composition, gained some grey hairs, lost our ability to see up-close clearly, felt new aches and pains, and forgotten how to sleep long hours into the morning.

We’ve also changed provinces, moved houses multiple times, and watched our three children grow from babies to young adults. We’ve found jobs, lost jobs, started businesses, ended businesses, and found numerous ways to express our creativity.

Through it all, we’ve managed to stay married.

I don’t think we could have done it on our own. I’m thankful that my pastor insisted way back then that we agree to start one habit as a couple: to pray together every night. This kept us relying on God and remembering we’re not alone.

Thirty years is a long time. I hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane as I pondered the way it was back in 1996.