“I probably won’t get to celebrate too many of these types of Masses,” noted Padre Roberto at the beginning of the Mass. Papá Chepe and Mamá Toni had just walked down half of the aisle in the small Huntington Park church. The church was filled with their family, a mix of generations. Even the priest was family. Padre Roberto is their nephew and ahijado (godson).

He’s right. How many couples get to celebrate 65 years of marriage?

My grandparents (and all their family by extension) are blessed. And we know it.

The ceremony was lovely. Padre Roberto spoke about the metaphorical wine in one’s marriage and the need to keep it replenished. Then Papá Chepe and Mamá Toni renewed their vows with the blessings of their children.

Following the Mass, we headed to La Verne for the reception for tacos and dancing and lots of pictures.

On January 30, 1943, José Ureño and Antonia Saldivar got married.

In case you haven’t done the math, that was 65 years ago (minus a few days)!

My family is getting together today to celebrate the Star Sapphire or 65th anniversary (source). I hope it’s as memorable as the celebrations for the 50th (golden) and 60th (diamond) anniversaries.

For Papá Chepe and Mamá Toni’s 50th anniversary in 1993, the whole family got all dressed up as if we were part of wedding party. I don’t remember too much about the ceremony or the party except that Ernie (my cousin) and I read the first and second readings in Mass and there was a big party with a tamborazo and birria afterward.

The celebration for the 60th anniversary in 2003 was much smaller. We had a small Mass to celebrate the milestone at my family’s home and had the party there too. The family was much bigger by this point (about 80 people counting all the inlaws and great-grandkids).

i was once told that my hands were incredibly soft. the guy who told me this – a platonic friend – told the person next to him. The other guy touched my hands and supported the first guy’s exclamations.

“You’ve never done any hard work in your life have you?”

If you mean cleaning toilets, picking fruit, using a short handled hoe, operating heavy machinery, and sewing hundred of garments in a few hours, then no, I haven’t done any “hard work.”

The people who came before me — Grandpa, Grandma, Papá Chepe, Mamá Toni, mom and dad — already did it for me.

My work won’t make my hands rough.