Bob and Cindi, 27 Years in Doha

A comedian compared marriage to buying a car: "owning this car is going to be really hard.  It'll either run perfectly forever - or leave you stranded without bus fare. It will need more time and attention than you have and maintenance will be expensive!  The transmission will go out, bumpers will rust, paint will chip and it will run rough, even as it promises not to.  Sometimes it will refuse to start. The only guarantee is…owning this car is going to be really hard."

Of course odds of success go up with research, careful planning, reputable factories, compatible features, a history of performance…

…and a sense of humor helps too.

Our twenty-seven year celebration began with a last party at Curtis and Mary's…a good-bye to coworkers who head back to the states soon - or move into different Doha digs.

Curtis and Mary's beautiful, ambitious, 23 year old son pointed to his parents and said, "aren't they GREAT?"  We think so too. :)

Esther sings "The Doha Song" ("I can see clearly now, the sand is gone...")

Tracy and Mike insist on taking their kids back to Missouri, USA with them.  How selfish.  :)

Topped off with alone time at Doha's Al Mourjan Restaurant ("A Touch of Art, A Taste of Perfection; One of the World's Best Restaurants!") overlooking West Bay waters.

We toured the pyramid shaped Sheraton hotel - Doha's first hotel - and later, watched "The King's Speech" on DVD.

Sure, marriage is hard - there's no combination or how to manual and when things don't work out it's about as painful as it gets.  Still, most people I know give committed relationships a shot.

Because…when you get it right?  It's the best thing ever.

 

(What to do when a couple can't agree on which photo to post.)