When I asked Brenda what she loves about Jim, she smiled.

“He’s always the same person.” Steady. Good. Someone who works hard and shows up for his family.

Then I asked Jim the same question. What does he love about Brenda? They share the same values. The same steadiness. The same commitment to each other.

They built their life together in Kentucky. Born and raised there. Raising their kids while Jim worked road construction. And some years…they didn’t take a single vacation.

When I asked Brenda if she could go back and change one thing, she said she wouldn’t change the life they built. Or move.

She would just add more moments. More vacations. More exploring. More time together. And, here they are doing just that in Virginia Beach.

Then I learned something else about Brenda and Jim.

They have been married for 45 years. And somehow, they have never smoked, never done drugs, and never drank alcohol.

Brenda told me she tried alcohol once. She didn’t like the taste. And she didn’t like what she saw it do to the people around her. I get that.

After 45 years…they still look at one another and see the same person they fell in love with.