Charles and Audrey Cousins 51 years of marriage still going strong
Published:Sunday | December 20, 2020 | 12:16 AMCecelia Campbell-Livingston - Sunday Gleaner Writer
Charles and Audrey Cousins celebrated their 51st wedding anniversary on September 13. The couple credits the longevity of their union to the enduring love and deep respect they have for each other, as well as their total understanding of each other.
Audrey, more popularly known as ‘Miss Cherry’, shared with Family and Religion her “budding romance” with her husband, whom she said she knew from they were children growing up in Portland.
“I lived in Blue Hole and he lived on an adjoining property. He would walk through our property to go to his, which is a little distance from Blue Hole,” she said. Miss Cherry added that her mother would normally share their breakfast with Charles and that would “‘bun” her because, by giving him some of the food, there was less for her to eat, and back then, she said, bursting out into laughter, she was not that charitable!
However, as they grew older, they lost contact with each other, but reconnected when they were in their late teens. That was when they made a love connection.
Now, Miss Cherry is delighted to give Charles, more popularly known as ‘Woodie’, all the breakfast he needs, and to do for, and with him, anything that keeps the fire burning in their relationship.
The couple, who says that they do everything together, is blessed with four children who are all now grown adults with their own families.
SUCCESSFUL MARRIAGE
Miss Cherry shared that the secret to a successful marriage is “having priorities”. She acknowledged that she knew there would sometimes be disagreements in their marriage, but she made up her mind, from the get-go, that she would never allow it to divide them. She said she always knew that she wanted to have children, and they, too, were the glue that ensured she allowed nothing to break up the union.
“I always say, if God blesses us with kids, I would watch over my kids ... I would have to die with them! We come from two different families, two different trainings. So there were going to be differences, but you have to know how to get over that. If kids are involved, and that was my main link, my kids – all four of them, I never wanted my family to be disrupted,” she shared.
When asked, ‘Woodie’ could not list the ‘one thing’ he loved most about his wife. He simply said, “I just love her”.
As far as he is concerned, all of her other qualities are just “after the fact”.
Quizzed on how he handled conflicts in their union, Woodie said, when misunderstanding comes up, “I stop talking and let her rant, then later we sit and reason it out together”, he said between peals of laughter.
Likening their relationship to a drinking glass, Woodie explained, “When you have your drinking glass, you have to handle it carefully or else it will break and you gonna have to buy again, and you might not even like the new one you buy,” he said.
Admitting that God is the head of their union, he said his words of wisdom to other couples is to never lose sight of that fact, and bear the words of Proverbs 15:1 in mind “A soft answer turns away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger”.