“Love is the condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.”

 Robert Heinlein, Author

 This year, my husband and I are celebrating 52 years of marriage by taking a five-day trip from Florida to St.Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Over the years, we have toasted our wedding anniversaries in many places. We were married in New York in 1971, but I was pregnant with my daughter and we lived in New Jersey when we defrosted the tiny top layer of our wedding cake and celebrated #1. I was also pregnant for #2, that time with my son, and we had moved to Massachusetts. Anniversaries 3 through 8 were marked in the Bay State as well.

My husband’s work took us to Italy where we had our 9th, 10th, and 11th celebrations then we partied in Massachusetts again for numbers 12 through 15.

Another work-related move to Germany allowed us to celebrate anniversaries 16 through 21 there.

Back in Massachusetts again, we celebrated quite a few (numbers 22 through 31. Those years included our Silver Anniversary (#25) when our children gave us an apple tree which we planted in the backyard. And I remember a dinner on a deck overlooking the Essex River for our 30th.

For number 32, my husband and I took a trip to Ireland. We rented a house in the southwestern coastal town of Schull for the first week, spent time in Dublin and Galway after that, and explored some of my Irish roots in Askeaton, a small town not far from Limerick.

Anniversaries numbered 33 through 39 were feted back home in Massachusetts, but number 40 was celebrated during a trip to the island of Rhodes, Greece. We started the day in Kalithea, the site of ancient therapeutic baths. The Italians restored the seaside buildings in 1929 and you can walk the grounds, gardens, and tide pools, lounge by the sea, and eat and drink at their cafe. Several movies have been filmed here, including "Zorba the Greek.” On the way back home, we took a detour to the acropolis of Ialyssos where we found lots of peacocks running around free and an interesting mixture of buildings and ruins, including a 4th-century BC Christian baptistry and a 2nd-century BC Palace of Athena.  On the edge of the cliff was a Byzantine fortress and the centerpiece was a lovely Greek monastery with a courtyard from the 15th century AD.  A shaded walk with Italian stations of the cross led to a giant cement cross overlooking a valley. In the late afternoon, we headed to the beach for a while then retreated to our patio before heading out for a celebratory anniversary dinner alfresco in Rhodes Town.

Anniversaries 41 through 43 were in Massachusetts, but we were in Juno Beach, Florida for #44 and the following day we attended a family wedding at the Breakers on Palm Beach Island. We continued our celebration with a road trip to the Florida Keys, staying in Islamorada and Key West, before a long drive home to Massachusetts where we enjoyed anniversary celebrations 45 through 47.

After relocating to Florida, we dined at Carmine’s Ristorante on a marina in Palm Beach Gardens for #48 and at another Florida restaurant for #49.

Our Golden 50th was feted over several days in Florida with our grown children. The main celebration dinner was at Jetty’s Restaurant on the water in Jupiter, followed by Prosecco and a cake frosted with gold leaf at home. The next morning, a mimosa cruise on a catamaran in West Palm was followed by dinner at Guanabana’s Restaurant in Jupiter.

Last year, we made a reservation for #51 at the Beacon Restaurant at Love Street in Jupiter, but the place had to postpone the date due to some issues they were experiencing. They rescheduled us for the next evening, but the same thing ensued. The upside was that they sent us two dinner vouchers, one for each postponement and we celebrated there at a later date.

Though I don’t remember the specifics of all the years, I do know that they were happy occasions, many of them sharing the day with our children. We have been blessed and I’m so grateful.