35 Years of Marriage

Today is my parents’ 35^th wedding anniversary!

They are celebrating by having people over for dinner, a pooja (a religious ceremony), and karaoke (Bollywood style!). Since I can’t be there to celebrate with them, I thought I would do a little tribute to the love birds on my blog by sharing 10 random facts about them.

But before I do that, I just want to say that my sister and I are so incredibly blessed to have these two as parents. I thank my lucky stars every single day.

Their marriage, like most, has been through a lot – ups and downs, challenges and moments of pure happiness. But above all else, the last 35 years have full of love and laughter. You can sense it every time you’re around them. And they really are an absolute inspiration to me in my own marriage!

With that being said, here are 10 random facts about today’s special couple (along with some throwback pics!).

1. My mom was only 18 when she got married, and my dad was 27. A few years later they immigrated to the US with two suitcases and a very minimal amount of money. It’s incredible to think about where they are now versus where they were then.

2. My dad has two nicknames for my mom – Dalu (short for darling) and Minu (her name is Mina). My mom has never really had a nickname for my dad. Until recently that is. Now she calls him Kau (short for Kaushik).

3. My dad is the chai maker in the house. My mom doesn’t like anyone else’s but his.

4. My dad is also the primary grocery shopper. But this is only because my mom comes home with lots of things they don’t really need (which all looks like $$$ to my dad).

5. My dad is THE biggest fan of my mom’s food. She can do no wrong when it comes to her cooking.

6. My parents love old Bollywood songs, and it’s really cute because my dad always plays my mom’s favorite songs for her while she’s cooking.

7. My parents dye each other’s hair. Talk about trust!

8. My parents still match their Indian clothes when they go to different events.

9. My parents still go on dates – out to restaurants or to the movies (they highly recommend Million Dollar Arm by the way!).

10. My mom is the chatty Cathy in their relationship. But don’t let my dad fool you. He’s actually really funny when he wants to be! In fact, both of my parents are incredibly goofy. No wonder I’m the way I am!

And a bonus fact just because:

11. My parents have two of the coolest kids around!