Mr and Mrs. Noseworthy sat beside each other at a quiet restaurant in Angus on February 14, 2018. Dave, 68, had his arm wrapped around his wife, Gale, 64, as they sat beside two other friends, waiting for their meals to be served. The couple met at a party back in 1969. When Dave spotted Gale, he knew that Gale was the one.
“T here was no one else, just her.” Dave said with the utmost certainty. “I told her that we are going to end up together on December 27, 1969.”
The funny thing is, they did. As romantic as it seems, it wasn’t easy to win Gale’s heart.
After hearing what Dave had to say about marriage, Gale responded, “You’ll have to ask my father’s permission.”
To prove his love, he did. Dave mustered up the courage to tell Gale’s father that he wished to marry hisdaughter.
“There were rules.” Gale said. “Dave followed those rules as he lived in my father’s household.”
Dave lived with Gale in her father’s household and courted her for over a year to get his permission.
They have been married for over 48 years.
Courtship is no longer as common during this modern day and age. Serenades, flowers, and love letters slowly cease to exist and are replaced with emails, apps and online dating websites. According to Statistics Canada, 4 in 10 marriages end in divorce. So how does this couple have something this valuable? Dave and Gale are simple people, who did not seem to need much. They just needed one another. When asked, the couple was kind enough to share advice.
“This generation does not work things out and they don’t listen to each other.” Dave said. “If you have an argument, work it out.”
He looked at his wife and she smiled and glanced at him. “Do everything together.” Gale added. “Support one another and do things together.”
Relationships take time and effort. Finding time to be with one another is something that the couple had done for Valentines Day.
“Lastly, compliment each other.” Dave said. “I tell her 50 times a day that I love her.”
Advice given by this couple does not only apply to romantic relationships. It applies to all relationships. It can be with a parent, a child, a spouse, a sibling or a friend. All relationships go both ways involving time, effort, and sacrifice. It’s not about not having problems, it’s about overcoming them. Choosing to and being able to overcome those problems with the people you love will make your relationships more meaningful than you realize.
