{"id":130382,"date":"2016-08-14T15:15:00","date_gmt":"2016-08-14T13:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/germistoncitynews.co.za\/130382\/sapphire-years-for-couple\/"},"modified":"2016-08-14T15:07:45","modified_gmt":"2016-08-14T13:07:45","slug":"sapphire-years-for-couple","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/news-headlines\/2016\/08\/14\/sapphire-years-for-couple\/","title":{"rendered":"Sapphire years for couple"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe met at a soccer match back in 1950,\u201d said Marie Goutier.<\/span><\/p>\n

Marie (82) and her husband, Carel (86), will be celebrating their 65th wedding anniversary on August 18 (Thursday).<\/p>

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\u201cI had gone to watch a soccer match with my father when I first met Carel,\u201d said Marie.<\/p>\n

\u201cCarel was a soccer player in his days and my father knew most of the players in his team.<\/p>

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\u201cLater that day my father invited Carel over to our house for drinks, because he was a good soccer player.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter that day, he (Carel) asked me out to go to the movies and then we started dating.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe got married the following year, on August 18, 1951, at the Johannesburg Magistrate\u2019s Court,\u201d explained Marie.<\/p>\n

\u201cA year later our first child, Mary-Anne Felcia, was born and, three years later, we had our second daughter, Jeanne Peters, who was followed by our son, Frank Goutier, five years later.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have nine grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carel said Marie still has a good memory at her age.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe knows and remembers all our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren\u2019s birthdays,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe remembers all of our birthdays.\u201d<\/p>\n

The couple\u2019s three children organised a surprise for their 50th anniversary.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn their 50th anniversary, in 2001, the family got together and my grandparents had a proper wedding, even though they had no idea about the wedding prior to the day, as it was a surprise,\u201d said their eldest grandchild, Tracy Enslin.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven when they arrived at the venue they just couldn\u2019t understand why they were at a church.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had the shock of our lives, but it was absolutely beautiful,\u201d said Marie.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere wasn\u2019t a dry eye in the church on that day, everybody sat there in tears.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked about the secret to a long-lasting and happy marriage, Marie said: \u201cGiving your husband space to do what he wants.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never stopped him from doing any sports and anything he wanted to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the girls want to take me out sometimes, he doesn\u2019t mind and says that I should go and have a good time; we give each other space.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy grandfather is a very sociable and out-going person and still, to this day, he likes to go to the bowling club in Bedfordview and also to have a few drinks with his friends,\u201d explained Enslin.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy grandmother is more of the homey type of person, she likes to read, knit and cook, among other things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marie also said they take care of each other and have grown close to each other over the years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you grow older you grow closer together,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes you know exactly what the other is going to say, like I would be thinking that I feel like having a sweet and he would just get up and ask if I want a sweet.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou grow towards one another.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carel told the GCN that they resolve fights by talking.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the beginning, when we would have arguments, Marie would go for days without talking to me, but I spoke to her and suggested that we talk about the problem and move on,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow when we have fights we talk about it, get it out the way and it is over.<\/p>\n

\u201cMinutes later you hear us calling each other \u2018darling\u2019 with no hard feelings.\u201d<\/p>\n

The couple both agreed that the secret to feeling and looking young is to keep active.<\/p>\n

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