Los Peterson

My parents are celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary today. For those of you who don't know my parents, they are both pretty amazing. About 31 years ago, they met in Juneau, Alaska, in a bar. At the time, my mom happened to be the lead singer in a band that played in the bar and my dad thought she was a 'babe'. So, when she was through singing, he asked her if he could buy her a beer. That was pretty much it for both of them. They were and still are, in love.



I wasn't quite sure what to get for them this year. The 30th anniversary is supposed to be pearls. We don't have the budget for that kind of gift right now. Maybe pearl onions or some whitening toothpaste to make their teeth 'pearly' white, but not real pearls. Come on. Instead, I decided to come up with my top 30 reasons why I'm glad my mom and dad are married. I guess my sister Rhonda would call them pearls of happiness.

So, here you go Mom and Dad. I'm glad you're married because:

#30. You've been best friends for over 30 years

#29. By staying married this long you've really beaten the odds

#28. Your constant dates at local Mexican dive, La Hacienda have managed to keep them open and thriving for the past 8 years

#27. You like trying new things together, even if you don’t always finish them together

#26. You both love your in-laws (even the weird ones)

#25. You know each other's strengths and weaknesses

#24. You know how to make each other laugh (and all of us)

#23. You've been through hard times and come out together even stronger than before

#22. You both love some of the same things: The Eagles, fresh Alaskan halibut, bargains, zip fiz, tacos, family and Costco

#21. Neither of you are afraid to tell the other what you really think.

#20. You take care of each other.

#19. You've taught each of us how to love someone different from ourselves

#18. You support one another in his/her different interests, even when you don’t really like musical theater or spending 10 days in Alaskan wilderness with a bunch of smelly guys.

#17. You compliment each other in so many ways: Mom has super human smelling capabilities; Dad smells; Dad’s a great storyteller, mom’s a great story hearer; Mom’s a great singer, dad’s extremely tone deaf. Dad makes mom look especially short, mom makes dad look especially tall.

#16. Together you both do countless acts of secret and selfless service for others

#15. You make each other and those around you, better people

#14. You know how to make each other really, really happy

#13. You’re both slow to remember the faults in the other person . . . that actually might be the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s

#12. Over the past 30 years you've sacrificed greatly for one another

#11. Together, you've created a home environment filled with peace, love and charity

#10. You guys are mom and dad to some great in-laws: Chris, Jessica, Amanda, and soon-to-be Eitan, Jordan and Andrea (I think that's going to be the name of Jordan's future wife)

#9. You're also Mimi/Nana and Pop Pop to: Josie, Gunnar, Max and Ashlyn

#8. While you were married you gave birth to Jordan,
#7. Jared
#6. Andrew
#5. Aaron
#4. Rhonda
#3. And Me

#2. You're an inspiration to all of your children and grandchildren.

#1. You were married in the temple so that our family can be together forever.

Happy Anniversary! We love you.