Letter addressed to my wife Elissa on our 50th wedding anniversary.

A letter written on the occasion of the wedding I celebrated on 22 November 2025. (I wrote a letter for a morning fifty years from now. So, Jarrod, good news: I pretended you had already survived the marriage!)

Good morning my love!

Today is November 22, 2075, and it’s hard to believe that we are celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary. Happy anniversary to us! I used to fear that, as the years went by, my memories would slowly fade. And yet, looking back, I remember almost everything:

I remember our first date. I remember our first kiss. I remember our first holiday together. I remember our first home. I remember the birth of our first child. I even remember our first fight. I still remember our wedding day in Enfield: our families, our friends, and that priest with the wonderfully funny accent. Each of these memories holds a special place in my heart. Thank you for sharing this incredible journey with me.

Our grandson Jake is marrying next month. We were fishing yesterday, and he asked me: “Nonno, what is the secret to a lasting marriage?'. I told him about the gift the priest gave us that day: that little kitchen scale. Do you remember what he said?

He told us to weigh our pride every morning. He said, “Make sure your ego never weighs more than the one of Jesus. A heavy ego is a burden that no marriage can carry.”

My love, I asked you the other day: “Have I been a good husband?”

You smiled and said, “When we got engaged, I knew you weren't perfect, and that you would disappoint me at times. What I didn’t know was that each time, you would come back and ask for forgiveness. Forgiveness has been the bright shelter that saved us over and over again.”

My love, most of our earthly journey has passed. But wherever we will end up after, I will look for you, and in that unspeakable light, we will fall in love again.

Yours for eternity, Jarrod.

Sydney, 22 November 2075.

Photo by Suzy Hazelwood