Mom & Dad and the Big Five-O

This year my parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Wow, what a milestone. To commemorate the occasion, the entire family rented a chalet in Gatlinburg, Tennessee where we spent all of last week. My brother Stu and his wife Joyce were there, along with their four kids and invited guests. It was great they were all able to come because that was a lot of schedules to get in sync. My brother Steve and his wife Pam were also there, although they left their kids, Jordie and Molly, at home unattended.

It was an unspeakably hot week, so we spent a lot of time inside just kind of taking it easy. Cooked most of our own meals, read a lot, watched tv. Ventured in to Gatlinburg on occasion to peruse the shops there and visit the aquarium (which is the best I've ever been to). But the main occasion was to commemorate the 50 years my parents have been together. What a privilege to have been able to grow up in a family in which the parents have been dedicated to each other that long. What a privilege to grow up in a family that enjoys being together for a week like this. We all do get along, and I guess that can be pretty amazing.

On the last night, we all sat around and gave testimonials to growing up in the Dennie household. There truly are no painful memories, no regrets, no repressed anger or anything like that. I grew up in a Christian household with parents that modeled Christ-like behavior in everything they did. Mom and Dad got it right. We all turned out just fine, with actually very little bumps in the road. What a legacy!