Saturday, July 23, 2016

The 120% Rule


I’ve been working with my sister to plan my parents 50th wedding anniversary vow renewal ceremony. It’s been fun to pick out the venue and the flowers and cake and the dress. Yep, it’s been just like planning a wedding. You see, my parents planned a wedding in three days before he was shipped out to Vietnam, so this is a first for them. No one is going to throw a borrowed dress on my mom, the photographer will show up (I hope), and they were able to choose their cake.

Fast forward fifty years and my parents are happily married and enjoying retirement. They travel all over the world, play golf, have date night every Friday night. It’s inspiring to see a couple still spending quality time together after all these years. Their big day is scheduled for August 6th, so I’ll definitely share some pictures of their original wedding and the vow renewal during my next scheduled post on August 23rd.

During this planning process, everyone asks my parents how they’ve made it work all these years. My mother and father always respond with the same advice, it’s the 120% rule. You love and give to your partner more than you give to yourself, that’s how a marriage survives.

For some reason, the last time I heard this I was inspired to do something extra special for my husband. The other night he mentioned to a guest about his mother’s orange pound cake. She passed away two years ago and I know how much he misses her, so I decided I’d attempt to make an orange pound cake from scratch. I knew it wouldn’t be his mother’s recipe, but I did my best. I’m happy to report that I didn’t burn the house down, and I was rewarded with a bright smile and request for a second piece. I think seeing him happy I ended up with the gift more than he did.

I guess my parents are on to something, you really do have to care more about your partner in life more than you care about yourself.

In case you’d like to know what recipe I used, please click here

I did make one substitution. I did orange glaze instead of syrup by combining two tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice with one cup confectioner sugar.

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Ciara Knight is a USA Today and Amazon Bestselling author who writes 'A Little Edge and A Lot of Heart' that spans the heat scales. Her popular sweet romance series, Sweetwater County (rated PG), takes readers into small town romance full of family trials, friendly competition, and community love. 

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 At the age of fifteen, Anna Baker was ripped from her childhood home, and her one true love, vowing to return the minute she graduated high school. 

Professor Liam Harrow once believed his childhood sweetheart would return home to him, but during college he faced reality and hardened his heart to love. 

When Historic Hall faces demolition, both Anna and Liam search for options to save their childhood memories, but when secrets unravel and the truth of Anna’s childhood departure is revealed, it could corrupt their memories, risk their present, and destroy their future. 

2 comments:

  1. That's a great rule for marriage or any relationship. Happy anniversary to your parents.

    ReplyDelete