According to one wedding website, a mere 5% of married couples reach their 50th wedding anniversary. Given that about 2 million people marry every year in the United States, reaching the 50-year mark is an impressive achievement.

Today, my older brother and his wife are celebrating their 48th anniversary, and God willing, will arrive at the 50 year mark and celebrate that milestone together. I’ve been told siblings are the longest and dearest relationship people experience in their lives and I think that would apply to my kinship with my elder brother. Likewise with my sister-in-law, I’ve posted about our friendship and love here.

Thinking about the anniversary today, I was reminded of a particularly dear poem, a work written by English poet Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672). Bradstreet was the daughter of one Massachusetts governor (Thomas Dudley) and the wife of another Massachusetts governor (Simon Bradstreet). They emigrated to America in 1630.

The poem doesn’t have a date and it would be wrong to surmise it was written as an anniversary poem, but I think the sentiment is beautiful and apt. I post the poem here as a tribute to my brother and his wife on the event of their 48th anniversary. May they have many more years together!