Love…Through the Ages

Nearly half of marriages end in divorce…a scary number for many newlyweds.

I caught up with four couples who have all been married more than 50 years and they shared their secret on making love last.

So just in time for Valentine’s Day, we’re sharing a few of their love lessons.

When you’re 32 years old and married just six months, there’s so much ahead of you.

Tracy and Ryan Diedrich are still adjusting to the little things.

“Still getting used to my new name,” said Tracy.

And only starting to think about the bigger challenges ahead.

“Buying a home is probably the most stressful thing we’re dealing with right now,” she continued.

But Tracy and Ryan are just new characters in a very old story.

A story these four Fargo couples know very well…each together more than 50 years.

What advice could they give Tracy and Ryan?

“I used to go visit her on my horse, because I didn’t have a car,” said Don Stevenson of his wife, Joyce.

Lesson One: Expect the Unexpected.

“What’s going to happen when we’re ready to look for a house or what unexpected costs or expenses are we not going to be aware of?” asked Ryan.

“We got married on the 31st day of December of 1950. Then on January the 15th I got my notice that Uncle Sam drafted me so I was drafted,” said Don, as he remembers one of their unexpected events.

For the first two years of their marriage, Don and Joyce could only communicate through letters.

They stayed close by writing every day.

And Joe kept Jane close by carrying a favorite photo.

That’s Lesson Two: Stay Focused on Each Other.

Lesson Three: Kids Are a Blessing…and Stressful.

“Once we have a newborn like night feedings. I joke with Ryan like you need to help out with that I can’t be doing it all the time,” said Tracy.

“When we were raising a family it was tough going,” said Don.

“We’ve gone through a lot of different ups and downs but that’s family,” said Eugene and Carol Bannerman.

“We’ve had our ups and downs but I figured it’s not much greener on the other side so we just stuck it out and so we’re here,” said Jo and James Aarfor.

Lesson Four: You Started as Friends. Make Sure You STAY Friends.

“We met at the singles club and we did a little dancing and a few other things and we’ve been together ever since,” said George and Karen Kruse, who now live at One Oak Place.

“We just hit it off together and I taught him how to dance,” said Carol.

“She was a cheerleader and I was a watcher,” said Don of wife Joyce.

“I was with somebody else and I ended up going home with James that evening. We’ve been pretty much together ever since,” said Jo.

And Lesson Five…the most important of all:

“To just love the person you’re with.”

Ryan and Tracy are in love and looking forward to what their future will bring.

“You can try to look at it and see OK, this is what it’s going to take, this is what we’re going to do but until you’re actually through it sometimes you got to learn as you go,” said Ryan.

“Once in a while one of us will start a question or an answer and the other one will know what they’re thinking, which is scary,” said Eugene.

And who knows…what 50 years will bring.

That may end our love story here but just know…true love never ends.