• My grandparents recently celebrated their 65th anniversary, and they're still so in love. • They say to choose friendships based on shared values, so you don't lose sight of what matters. • They also show gratitude to each other in small, everyday ways, and said independence is important.

In 1959, my grandma Barbara stood at the back of the church in her pillbox hat and silk wedding dress with a single thought flashing through her mind: Gee, do I really know him?

Barbara was a bona fide New Yorker — sharp-witted and straightforward — while my grandpa Richard was a polite, wholesome boy from upstate New York, 300 miles from the Big Apple. After meeting in November of 1957, they dated, broke up, then dated long-distance for a year— letters exchanged and weekend trips.

That September

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