I am still relatively new to the world of blogging, and also have irriating time constraints, so I don't get to visit nearly as many new sites as I would like to, but a surprising thing seems to have emerged from those I do visit..........

There are quite a few people out there who have been happily married for years and are still best friends!

The way marriage is portrayed on TV and the movies (and yes, to be fair, the reality of a 40% divorce rate) have all tended to make Max and I feel like some kind of freaks. How is it possible to have been together for 30 years and still adore each other, and love spending time together? It has been great over the last couple of weeks to read comments on several of my favourite blogs that show we are not as strange as we thought we were! Is it just coincidence that I have happened across the only other "happily marrieds" on the planet, or are we less of a minority than Hollywood would have us believe?

It all started like a Hollywood story though, the instant chemistry, the need to talk all night because we had so much in common (yet were such opposites in many ways) and couldn't bring ourselves to say goodbye, we were engaged within 7 and a half weeks of meeting and married 17 days after that! It was just so right, there were no doubts, in fact the only reason we waited the 17 days was that we didn't have the $10 we needed for a special licence so had to post bans for 2 weeks at the local District Comissioner's Office. 30 years and 2 kids and a grandson later here we are, as happy as ever! But after the experience of Muddy Red Shoes this week, I realise we must remember to consciously treasure each day, and not take a single one for granted.