Marriage Becomes a Number After Mom and Dad Divorce

I started to get the feeling that I was the only AKOD (Adult Kid of Divorce) that did not know how many years my parents were married for. I knew that their anniversary was sometime in February. I assumed they had been married for hundreds of years. Although, I didn't have an exact number. I know what Mom's wedding dress looked like, but not how Dad asked for her hand in marriage. In fact, I don't even know where they went on their honeymoon, if they even took one. The more I think about it, the more I realize I knew nothing about the facts of their marriage. Quite embarrassing actually.

The thing is, I know the exact date my parents sat Brother and I down and told us about their separation, July 31, 2009. I know more facts about their divorce than I do about their marriage. It seems too late to ask for details about the latter. I don't want to make my Mother cry. I don't want to cry.

Does the act of divorce boil marriage down to numbers? "My parents were married for this many years." What else is there to say?

I was not alive during my parents' engagement. I did not get to see them fall in love. I wasn't there to witness Mom and Dad voice their wedding vows. Instead, I have watched them fall out of love and voice their decision to live without each other for the rest of their lives.

Will the death of their marriage erase the happiness that they once shared? I hope not.

I asked Mom for a number. She replied, "Twenty-nine. Actually, no, twenty-nine and a half. This coming February would have been our thirtieth wedding anniversary."

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