On the 4th of June, my parents celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. Any milestone - as a mark of development and longevity in life - deserves recognition and respect, but there is something particularly refined about a marriage that has lasted half a century. Such a lasting partnership requires the uncommonly persistent loyalty of two people, not just to each other, but to a decision they once made.

I myself have been married for a mere 7 years, but in that time I’ve learned that marriage is, very basically, a decision. As wholly unromantic as that sounds, the word ‘decision’ has roots which explain the nature of the accomplishment; it comes from the French verb décider, from the Latin decidere ‘determine’, from de- ‘off’ + caedere ‘cut’. When we make a decision, we consciously cut ourselves off from other options, and this involves a certain determination, particularly in a modern world of myriad choices and endless possibilities.

At my own wedding in 2014, my father gave a memorable speech, in which he commended the choice of two people to stand up, before the state and their families and friends, and make that kind of commitment. He called that decision ‘a fine thing’ - a poignant turn of phrase, and one that bespeaks the respectability of the gesture of marriage. It makes 50 years of that same gesture - once made - a very fine thing, indeed.