"The greatest thing a father can do for his daughter is love her mother." - Elaine S. Dalton

A girl goes out to the bar with her friend, meets eyes with a guy, who will end up being her future husband, and buys him a drink. It is almost like a college student's dream come true. A college student's dream, and my parents' reality. My mom went out with her friend, saw my dad, bought him a drink, and the rest is history.

Fast forward over 22 years later, they live in a small, suburban town about 20 minutes away from the dive-bar where they met, with a daughter, a son, and an overly-energetic golden retriever. People around town have said that they are the catalyst of the "picture perfect" family, the family I am lucky enough to call myself a part of.

As we all know, "picture perfect" does not necessarily mean that everything is perfect in real life. Really, what it means is we all fit nice together in pictures. My dad is a family man and a coach. My mom is a hard-worker and our backbone. My brother and I are the perfect mixture of both, oddly taking after both of them equally, looks and personality.

For us, most pictures resemble what we really are. We love each other, and it shows in our annual Christmas photos. We laugh and we joke around with each other; there is never a harsh word spoken about or to each other. We fit nice together in pictures, and we fit perfectly together in real life.

I believe that the reason we are as close as we are, and as strong as we are, is because of my parents' love and respect for one another. There is never a day that goes by where my parents do not say, "I love you." Not a day goes by that my dad does not make my mom laugh. Who they are individually and who they are together seemingly go hand-in-hand -- they build each other up and they bring us with them.

I used to think that how I was living, both of my parents happily married under one roof, is the way everyone lived. Unfortunately, as I grew older, I realized that is not the case.

So, now I want to thank them for showing me what marriage takes and what true love is. 22 years, close extended family, and two kids: it should go without saying that life can get hard at times. However, they work together as parents, as friends, as family, and as a couple to overcome obstacles. They tell each other the truth, even though it may not be what the other wants to hear. They pick on each other, and sometimes they argue about little things like where the calzone recipe came from or green peppers (I'm not kidding). Everything they do, they do it out of love.

Their love has subconsciously taught my brother and I how to love. I know I deserve to be treated the way my dad treats my mom. My brother knows how a woman should be treated. No, neither of us are getting married anytime soon, but we know what we deserve when the time comes. We know what love looks like and how to make it last because we grew up with the two best examples.

Dad, thanks for loving Mom. And, Mom, thanks for loving Dad (and buying him that drink). Happy 22nd Anniversary.