Our children gave us a beautiful party for our 50th Wedding Anniversary…They put the party together with such love and thought, that told the story of our life together and it touched our hearts beyond words!!

Here are some life lessons that Victor and I have learned over our 50 years of marriage, that were evident throughout our party…

It helps to have a common interest during your life together.

First of all, the party was held in the lovely historic Endicott Estate, Dedham, MA…which was perfect for us because we love renovating old homes!!

These are some of the houses we have renovated! The first house is the one that started it all, we bought it before we got married and fixed it up for our honeymoon cottage, we paid $16,000 for it, in 1972!! VJ took this picture of it, the way it looks now and superimposed our wedding picture on it!!

As you can see, there are framed photographs in each room, lining the mantels, tables and hutches…VJ framed over 200 photos, of our life together, including family, friends, homes and pets. He made sure there were photos of everyone at the party!!

The venue, of this old estate, consists of several rooms…each room is used for a different service!! There is a bright room with a beautiful mantel and mirrors that they use as a bar, a cozy room for the appetizers, a large room for the food buffet…

and finally the dining room which is a step down from a large reception area!! It all has an old world charm!!

My daughter Gina was in charge of the flowers, they were simply magnificent… flowers arrangements were placed in every room!!

Our homes are so much a part of our lives, that Gina, very thoughtfully named the tables at the party, after the streets that we have lived on, there were enough streets for 9 tables!

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Make sure the person you marry has the same family values.

My son VJ made this cardboard cut-out of our wedding picture, the photographer had us pose in the same way we did 50 years ago!! When we got married, we knew we wanted a family and we knew we wanted to stay close to our parents!!

Our family in the 1980’s and 1990’s…Victor, VJ, Gina and me!!

Our family, at our 50th Anniversary party, 2022, VJ, Victor, me and Gina.

And the new comers in our family, Tom, Gina’s husband, their sons, Aaden 12 and Parker 8!

My mother and family, on the left and Victor’s mother and us, on the right…we stayed close until they passed.

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Foster friendships!! They will be your lifeline when your kids are young...

My good friend Claire and her family, lived next door to us, we raised our children together and leaned on each other during the child rearing years!! This photo shows me holding Gina and Claire is holding her first born, Michael, and VJ was in the middle, the older kid on the block!!

and your lifeline when you’re in your golden age!!

We are still good friends, and our husbands too!!

Make sure you can laugh and have fun with your friends…they help you stay young!!!!

My Dancing Queen friends…we all took dance aerobics together and we formed a strong friendship that has lasted almost 20 years…the picture on the left is from about 10 years ago, and on the right, they are at our party!!

Keep friends that remind you of where you came from!!

More dear friends at our 40th wedding anniversary…

And the same friends at our 50th anniversary…Victor went to grammar school with all the men in these pictures…and their wives are my dear cherished friends💞

Make your friends your family and your family your friends...

All our family are our friends…but this family moved in next door to us, on Cape Cod, which makes them special friends💘 Victor’s sister, Patty and her husband Don, who is an amazing chef, we are in front of their newly bought cottage in 2019!!

Most Saturday nights on the Cape, we have family night meal…and if you are visiting us, you become family and are invited to our family meal!!

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And so through the years, we have nurtured our marriage with a common interest, family and friends…not only will this help you to reach 50 years of marriage, but it will help you to live a happy and healthy life!!

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This is an excerpt from the speech that Victor and I read at our 50th wedding anniversary party…

“We had a great old Italian wedding, with passionate and loving people all around us, helping that young and innocent couple celebrate their wedding!!  Over the years that passion and love have encircled us through good and bad times, that passion and love have embraced new family and friends into our circle and have enriched our lives beyond what we could have ever imagined back then.  

And you have all come together in full circle, today, to help this not so young and not so innocent couple, celebrate our love and compassion for each other and for all of you!!  This is what life is all about, simply, loving family and friends with a passion…so let’s celebrate each other and have a good time!!

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Outtakes of our 50th wedding anniversary…

Me, my daughter Gina, my niece Christy, and my sister Marilyn!!

On the left, our wedding party, 1972! On the right, our wedding party, less 2 bridesmaids in the middle, 2022!

Our handsome grandsons, Parker and Aaden…

One of the many things our grandsons have a talent for…

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Thank you to all who helped us celebrate this special occasion and my birthday too!! And thank you to all my readers, for your support, you have helped us celebrate just by reading this post💛