A new relationship is a flood of surprises and new experiences, but you’d think that after 63 years of marriage, a couple would be all out of surprises.
After that many years, you’ve learned every opinion, habit, quirk, and routine that person will ever display.
For Karl and Donna Von Schwarz, that couldn’t be further from the truth.
In a marriage that long, you’re guaranteed to have ups and downs, but 2018 was a rough one for the both of them.
Donna, who is 81 years old, needed heart surgery.
Soon after, she had a seizure and a stroke, meaning that she spent much of the year in the hospital.
“Grandpa never left her side,” their granddaughter Karly Gibbs told CBS News.
High school sweethearts, Donna and Karl got married in 1956.
Together they had four kids, which was later followed by nine grandchildren. They now have nine great-grandchildren, with a tenth on the way.
Such a great big family!
Besides hospital stays, the health issues meant Donna spent a lot of time in rehab.
Karl stayed with her throughout the recovery process.
Karly said, “The rehab center brought in a chair where he slept every night until she was strong enough to come home.”
Donna was a fighter, but she also had a bit more motivation on her side.
When she finally got out of rehab for good, Karl promised to buy her a new engagement ring.
Which is the absolute sweetest thing.
He stuck to his promise and once she was home, they made a trip to the department store.
At first, it was a simple event. They picked out the ring together with their family in tow.
The ring is beautiful! Good choice, Donna!
But with their family’s urging, Karl decided to make it a little more special.
“What in the world?” Donna exclaimed as he got down on one knee and proposed to her all over again.
RELATED STORIES
When another granddaughter shared the pics and video on Twitter, it immediately went viral.
The initial post with just pics got over 25,000 likes, so she shared the video too.
They really are the cutest, aren’t they? And we should all wish them as much happiness together as time allows.
Be sure to check out the whole video below.
h/t: CBS News
