Forty-seven years ago today (July 12th), two green and starry-eyed, very young adults married each other in a beautiful church in West Palm Beach, FL. With family and friends gathered, all wondered if we would make it. I say with an impish twinkle in my eye, “Kathie and I have been happily married for 45 years (everyone “Ah!”) . . . and really that’s not bad out of 47!”

Across nearly five decades, we have shared married life, reared three amazing human beings, celebrated their families, and now hold with a love neither of us thought possible our five, soon-to-be six, grandchildren. Committing one’s life to another is the ultimate act of faith as all who are married or in a long-term relationship know well. Passion’s fever ebbs and flows. Life throws a couple more curveballs than imagined. “For better or for worse” only glimpses what “better” and “worse” may be.

For a financial professional, anniversaries of all kinds populate a calendar. I’m not sure if you’ve thought about it recently, but here is a list of anniversary events worth remembering:

• Birthday
• Wedding
• Birth of children and grandchildren
• Promotion
• Re-location
• Death of a loved one
• Retirement
• Being cancer-free

I know I’m missing many, but this list is a start. 

What if you carved out a block of time this week and began to note in your physical or digital calendar what I call “anniversary reminders?” Such days are reasons for a call, an email, or a personal, stamped note in the mailbox. Across the years, when I have acted on those reminders, clients and friends almost always have said, “How did you remember?” How indeed!

When we look back at our lives, the dates we recall will not be the untimely flat tire, the unexpected trip to the dentist’s office, the age of our vehicles, or the time we wasted in traffic. We all know that in a life that may number over 30,000 days, we will most remember those life-altering, life-affirming, life-celebrating days spent with those who love us and whom we have loved.

Now imagine how your clients will resee, rethink, and revisit their relationship with you when you touch them with a simple, unexpected call, card, or email! 

Most of all, on this very special day in our lives – happy anniversary, Kathie! She has been and will always be the great love of my life and in the beautiful life of our family.