A day that truly has been a long time coming. Former U.S. President, Jimmy Carter, 91 and First Lady Rosalynn Carter, 88 are celebrating their 70th wedding day anniversary. They met when they were children. Kathleen Foody with AP reports:
Jimmy's sister, Ruth, was one of Rosalynn Smith's best childhood friends. As teenagers, the girls tried to pair up shy Rosalynn with the future president whenever he returned home on visits from the U.S. Naval Academy.
They succeeded in 1945, when Jimmy Carter's planned date for the evening was busy at a family reunion. He invited his sister's friend to a movie. The next morning, he recalls telling his mother Rosalynn Smith is "the one I'm going to marry."
Early the next year, he asked for her hand. She said no, according to Jimmy Carter's 2015 book "A Full Life," explaining that she promised before her father's death to finish college. He persisted in letters and phone calls, and she eventually accepted.
He wore his dress-white Navy uniform and she wore a black and white bib dress to the small wedding ceremony. For several years, the young couple moved around the country at the Navy's direction.
Seventy years later, they are still married. And they say today, they are “closer than ever.” Almost one year ago, the 39th president announced he had cancer that was spreading and he was going to try a new treatment. Mrs. Carter commented,
"I didn't know what I was going to do, I depend on him when I have questions, when I'm writing speeches, anything, I consult with him."
The honorable Jimmy Carter gave us all good news when he announced the cancer was gone last December. The world cheered. He recently went off the cancer treatment. Rosalynn Carter, 88, said, “It was a miracle,” and many tend to agree.
The Carters stared The Carter Center together in 1982, soon after the president left office and have since been “Waging Peace, Fighting Disease and Building Hope” around world. They have sought solutions for peace, monitored elections for freedom and democracy, helped bring the cases of Guinea Worm disease from 3 million cases down to two cases, and together have been working with Habitat For Humanity for decades. Here today’s tweet from The Carter Center:
They say one of the keys to their long marriage is respect and willingness to give each other space.
"Space and doing things together and respecting what each other can do are the things that have made it really special," Rosalynn Carter said of their seven-decade marriage.
Both Carters say the key to their long marriage is mutual respect and a willingness to give each other some space. They keep separate offices at The Carter Center in Atlanta and at their house in Plains — hers in a converted bedroom and his in the garage. He prefers to work early in the day; she also rises early but tends to settle into work later.
President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalynn Carter
Happy, Happy Anniversary, Jimmy and Rosalynn. Wishing you many more.
Mr. and Mrs. Carter continue to advocate for human rights with relentless and veracious fortitude and compassion. Over 170,000 people have joined the Facebook page, Honoring Jimmy Carter and are sharing their thoughts about the remarkable couple. In addition, many are also showing their appreciation by signing the Thank you note to Jimmy Carter:
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