{"id":1090,"date":"2012-09-27T12:35:48","date_gmt":"2012-09-27T19:35:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/?p=1090"},"modified":"2012-10-01T18:32:54","modified_gmt":"2012-10-02T01:32:54","slug":"fifty-shades-of-bliss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2012\/writing\/fifty-shades-of-bliss\/","title":{"rendered":"Fifty Shades of Bliss"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve been away from my writing<\/p>\n

\"\"

Rob and I at Buttle Lake<\/p><\/div>\n

celebrating fifty years of marriage. That’s right, 50! I know, it\u2019s a shocker. But just to explain, we were married in kindergarten. Yeah, that young. It\u2019s hard to believe, but back in the 60s, anything was possible and rules were broken. Rob and I fell in love at such an early age, there was no stopping us. We were kids with a dream. And the rest, as they say, is history.<\/p>\n

Before I continue, I\u2019m sure you\u2019re thinking with my post title that I\u2019m trading on the wild success of the book, Fifty Shades of Grey<\/a>. You\u2019re right. Come to think of it, that would\u2019ve been a good title for this post, as between Rob and I, I\u2019m sure we could come up with fifty shades of grey on our heads alone. I haven\u2019t even read the book, nor plan to read it, but it\u2019s a great title.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Kayaking at Strathcona Park Lodge<\/p><\/div>\n

For our fifty shades of bliss, we started our celebrations with a three day trip to Strathcona Park Lodge<\/a> on Buttle Lake on Vancouver Island. Our daughters and grandchildren joined us in a cottage by the water, where we swam, kayaked, and cooked kielbasa and toasted marshmallows over the fire. We hiked, did the zip line, and the ropes course. In the evening, we opened a bottle of champagne and the grand-kids put on a play, re-enacting our courtship and marriage. Being so young, they were perfectly cast to play our younger selves.<\/p>\n

Afterwards, we went on a cruise with dear friends and then, Rob and I spent two weeks in London, just the two of us. It\u2019s been momentous, to say the least. We feel very blessed.<\/p>\n

When you\u2019ve been together as<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

At Skjolden,Norway<\/p><\/div>\n

long as we have, you can\u2019t help but reflect on your journey together. Though in appearance, it seems we\u2019ve always been rosy, that\u2019s not the case, and it\u2019s not real life. We\u2019ve had our share of storms and rainy days, even a few tornadoes when it looked like everything we had built together was lost. It wasn\u2019t easy finding one another amongst the rubble. But we picked up the pieces and started again.<\/p>\n

Of the fifty shades of bliss, the ones we keep honing are (in no particular order) \u2013 love, humility, respect, forgiveness, humor, kindness, gentleness, helpfulness, consideration, patience, communication, sex, friendship, honor, and loyalty.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t say what might work for others, one shoe doesn\u2019t fit all. Speaking of shoes, with the divorce rate as high as it is, I sometimes think marriages are thrown out like old shoes. The guy or the girl in the marriage might think it\u2019s no longer any good; it\u2019s served its purpose, worn around the edges, not the style I like anymore, so throw it out. In my mother\u2019s day, you fixed that shoe. You put on new soles, shined it a bit, got new laces, and it was good to go. There\u2019s something to be said for that.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve been away from my writing celebrating fifty years of marriage. That’s right, 50! I know, it\u2019s a shocker. But just to explain, we were married in kindergarten. 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Publishing associations like The Library Journal and Publisher Weekly's Book Life are a few who have helped\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Books"","block_context":{"text":"Books","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/books\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Indie Author","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/INDIE-AT-LIBRARY-300x233.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1961,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2015\/writing\/pushing-boundaries\/","url_meta":{"origin":1090,"position":4},"title":"Pushing Boundaries","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"29 \u0411\u0435\u0440\u0435\u0437\u043d\u044f, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"For writers and artists, pushing\u00a0boundaries is\u00a0a natural act.\u00a0 As creative spirits, we\u00a0want to test how far we can go. Look at how the book Fifty Shades of Grey\u00a0changed the publishing landscape. How about film and television? 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