Marriage is the sacred union between a man and a woman. It’s a lifetime commitment not to be taken lightly. However, in modern days, some couples feel the bond of marriage is difficult to sustain.
So, what’s the key ingredient to long-term marital bliss?
“It’s thanks to my patience, really,” said 100-year-old Miyako Matsumoto, from Japan, in sharing this piece of wise advice.
In August 2018, Guinness World Record proclaimed Miyako and her husband, Masao Matsumoto, 108, as the world’s oldest living married couple by aggregate age.
“I am so grateful that it brings me tears,” Miyako told Reuters.
Miyako and Masao knew each other through an acquaintance. Eventually, they tied the knot on Oct. 20, 1937.
Like anything else in life, the elderly couple’s over 80 years of marriage have not always been smooth sailing.
The Matsumotos never had a formal wedding ceremony back in 1937, as Japan went into war. During World War II, Masao was drafted overseas for military service, leaving Miyako to raise their young daughters by herself.
When Masao returned home in 1946, he was only skin and bones.
After the war, life was difficult. The Matsumotos had to struggle to provide for their children. Masao could not even afford a doll set for Hinamatsuri, a Japanese traditional festival, for his daughter.
Due to Masao’s work, the family had to relocate to different places all over Japan.
Life was hard, but as the saying goes, there’s a rainbow at the end of every storm.
The Matsumotos could finally enjoy their life together, traveling leisurely abroad and in Japan, after their five daughters got married and had their own families, and as they began the last chapter of their life.
Now, Miyako and Masao have 13 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren.
They spend their golden years in a nursing home, busying themselves with numerous activities each day.
In 2017, the staff at the nursing home gave Miyako and Masao a special photo shoot to commemorate their 80th wedding anniversary. In the photo shoot, Miyako wore a regal red dress, complete with a tiara, while Masao clad a shiny red suit jacket.
“For Miyako, it was like a wedding she so wanted 80 years ago,” the Guinness World Record wrote on its website.
To celebrate Masao and Miyako’s Guinness World Records title, their family bought them to eat Udon (traditional Japanese noodle) at a nearby restaurant.
“I’m so proud to see my favorite grandpa and grandma receive a Guinness World Records title,” their granddaughter Aya Ozawa said. “My grandparents helped bring the big family together as we all gather in their home.”
Congratulations to the Matsumotos for clinching the honorable title!
A lifetime of love and happiness is not something that just happens to a couple. To make it work, it takes patience, just as Miyako said.
Hence, always remember: Be patient with your spouse and cherish him/her for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part.
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