During a conversation with a military individual, he remarked, “A speech should resemble a woman’s skirt: brief enough to pique interest, yet long enough to address the essential topics.” I couldn’t help but interject, asking for clarification on what those main points might be—was it her figure or something else nearby? He seemed to ignore my question, perhaps due to a hearing issue, which left him oblivious to the nuances of feminism. Nonetheless, the overarching consensus remains clear: concise communication is key.
Yesterday, I attended a celebration marking a couple’s 25th wedding anniversary, and I found myself wishing that the speeches could have extended significantly longer. I could have listened to their heartfelt words for hours. The couple appeared remarkably unchanged from their wedding day, which was both intriguing and delightful, but it was the sincerity of their remarks that truly resonated. Their reflections on a quarter of a century were a testament to the authenticity of their relationship. In contrast to the typical wedding speeches, it felt like the difference between a flashy presenter at a tech conference boasting about a futuristic sleep robot and a genuine researcher sharing groundbreaking cancer treatment discoveries.
The atmosphere was charged with a sense of fulfilled destiny; everyone present was in the kind of marriage you always envisioned for them—couples celebrating similar milestones, long-time partners who had initially resisted formal commitment only to eventually succumb, and those like me, navigating the waters of multiple divorces. It was the kind of gathering where you could have predicted these outcomes as far back as 2001—or even 1991.
I inquired about how another friend, who was also celebrating her anniversary this year, planned to commemorate the occasion. She mentioned a visit to a wetlands center or perhaps Ikea, to which I replied that such plans were inadequate unless we were all included. The achievement of one couple in maintaining long-term harmony inexplicably feels like a shared triumph for everyone.
Zoe Williams is a columnist for the Guardian.
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