Today is a pretty special day for my family. It’s my mother and father’s fiftieth wedding anniversary. In honor of their special day, my brothers, my kids and I came up with a list of fifty golden things that mean something special to us. I was in charge of typing it up and printing it out…and I forgot to print it out. So instead, I thought I’d share it with all of you. And here it is:

For Carl & Gerry Garren
on their 50th Wedding Anniversary
June 30, 2013

You may think we never had much gold,
and maybe we didn’t—if you’re talking about money, anyway.
But here’s a list of fifty golden things
we learned to appreciate because of your love:

1. Golden sands of Jekyll Island
2. And speaking of which, The Golden Isles!
3. Yellow roses
4. Butterball turkeys on Thanksgiving
5. Daffodils in spring
6. Honeysuckle in summer
7. Golden highlights in polished wood
8. Macaroni and cheese for lunch
9. A gold pen in Daddy’s front pocket
10. Honeybees and butterflies
11. Juicy fruit chewing gum wrappers
12. Gold crosses on simple gold chains
13. Daddy’s gold Oldsmobile
14. Gold and silver tinsel on Christmas trees
15. Yellow flames in a charcoal grill
16. Golden hamsters—like Frances!
17. Goldfinches at the birdfeeder
18. Lemonade on a hot summer day
19. Golden leaves in the fall
20. Gold foil wrappers on chocolate Easter eggs
21. Lemon meringue pie
22. Jack-o-lanterns
23. Sunny days in the hammock
24. A chipmunk’s golden fur
25. Golden music from the old stereo
26. Little Golden Books!
27. Butter on the rolls at Berry’s
28. Candlelight in a “blackout”
29. Gold print on the black leather cover of a Bible
30. Lamplight on a snowy day
31. Laughter is golden…and we had a lot of it
32. Golden tans in summertime
33. Fireworks on the Fourth of July
34. Full moons
35. The Golden Arches and Happy Meals
36. Yellowed pages of old books
37. Golden corn on the cob…fresh from the garden
38. Cornbread with pinto beans and fried potatoes
39. Sunflowers
40. Lightning bugs
41. Little golden pancakes shaped like animals
42. Pinecones
43. Acorns
44. Hot honey lemon tea…best medicine for coughs!
45. Popcorn from our popcorn popper
46. Flashlights…and shadow puppets on the wall
47. Sunsets
48. Gold bows on Christmas and birthday presents
49. Bouquets of buttercups and dandelions
50. Your gold wedding bands

For these and every other multi-colored thing
you’ve given us, thank you. We love you!