Upon a silver anniversary, celebrating the day to day

Reaching 25 years of marriage, as Sara and I did in June, is an achievement worth noting.

We’ve been through our share of ups and downs, certainly many more of the former than the latter. We try to be grateful for what we have, especially our family’s health and safety, and to have perspective about our accomplishment.

Among our siblings alone, we’re the fifth couple to reach a silver anniversary. We’re all far from my parents’ nearly 67 years of marriage.

To me, the real achievement isn’t measured in milestone years but in the day to day, being there for one another reliably and predictably through good times and bad.

So we celebrated our anniversary in that low-key spirit. We went to dinner with our son, who took a photo (above) of Sara and me that we texted to our out-of-state daughter.

It was our first time at Colebrook Tavern & Restaurant, near Mount Gretna in Lebanon County, which, as we ponder longevity, dates to 1915.

The casual vibe appealed to me. The Yuengling drafts were cold, the smash burger and fries were hot, everything was tasty. Our server was friendly and competent.

I already was thinking that Colebrook Tavern was a place worth coming back to, but what cemented it was what I saw our server do not long before we left.

The young woman, squirt bottle in one hand and cloth in the other, dusted and wiped down the myriad photos and other framed pieces of memorabilia on the wall facing me.

It was a small gesture, offered to no one in particular but to everyone who dines there. It demonstrated an attention to detail that’s too often lacking these days.

What really matters, in our personal lives and in business alike, isn’t showy milestones or awards.

It’s the dogged commitment to the day to day that’s most worth celebrating.