This rather dusty picture is one of my most treasured wedding gifts from 35 years ago. It was from my wife’s best friend’s mother. I immediately thought of the phrase “Life is a bowl of cherries” and wondered just how true that might be for this 39-year-old confirmed bachelor who just a couple of hours before vowed “till death due us part”.

Every time I have look at this ceramic, I think of that moment. Looking back, no, life was not a continuous bowl of cherries, but there were plenty of them interspersed in those coming years. I never bothered to find the source of that phrase until recently. It came from the lyrics of a 1964 Judy Garland song.

These verses give the words a new meaning, but I think I will still fall back on my original thoughts. I didn’t fathom how much completion of that phrase “till life do us part” would hurt. I will love her always, but I will also remember that life is a bowl of cherries, and don’t take it to serious.