What happens when the grandson of a plumber meets the granddaughter of a farmer for a tandem bike ride?  In the case of my parents, a relationship that would lead to marriage.  Relationships are hard, and learning how to love is even harder.  Some dreams die to give birth to new dreams, and two learn to become one in the midst of the challenges of life.  That is what I saw in my parents’ relationship and a key lesson they taught me: endurance.  Just as a baseball season can be exhausting with one hundred sixty-two games in the regular season, so a marriage that lasts requires the ability to stay the course. And to keep coming back.  So the baseball hat that my dad gave me a few years back, now stained with the sweat of years and the glitter of my six-year-old niece, signifies much more than an allegiance to the Houston Astros.  It represents endurance, the faith in believing even in what is not seen now, and the hope to carry on in the journey.  In the same decade the Astros had both the worst record in baseball and earned a World Series title.  So when I don my hat, I am reminded of my parents in rural northwestern Ohio and their gift of endurance as I traverse the ever-changing streets of New York City.  And I am reminded of the beauty of what lasts.

– J

Relationship:  Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more