This past weekend, Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States, and his wife Rosalynn, the 48th First Lady, made an unusual public appearance in Plains, Georgia.
Reports indicate that the pair spent almost an hour chatting with onlookers at the inauguration of a massive butterfly monument in First Lady Rosalynn’s honour this week, celebrating her 95th birthday.
The Friends of Carter’s organization unveiled this monument, which stands eight feet tall and features eighteen fluttering butterflies over the surrounding vegetation. A portion of the Rosalynn Carter Children’s Garden may be found in the grassy area near the house where Rosalynn spent her childhood.
The former first lady isn’t the only one in her family celebrating a milestone birthday.
Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter will celebrate his 98th birthday this October.
Tim Buchanan, the Friends of the Carters, says, “He reads his Bible daily, is active in family gatherings, and comments on choices connected to the Carter Center in Atlanta.”
After his term as President ended in 1981, Carter returned to his hometown of Plains, Georgia.
Recognizing his work toward preventing and resolving wars worldwide, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.
Yay! It’s #NationalRelaxationDay!
— Jimmy Carter Presidential Library (@CarterLibrary) August 15, 2022
President and Mrs. Carter catch some rest after rafting the Salmon River in Idaho during a vacation trip 8/19/78 NAID 180894#Napping #CarterLibrary #PresidentialLibrary pic.twitter.com/Ao2ZRnKV2V
The Carters’ recent 76th (!) wedding anniversary celebration made the news. As of right now, they are the President’s longest-married pair.
When Jimmy went home from the Naval Academy for a visit, that’s when he reportedly met Rosalynn for the first time.
He invited her out on a date because he thought they would get along well.
He gushed to People, “She was gorgeous and innocent, and there was a connection.”
Despite Rosalynn’s initial resistance (she kept dating during her undergraduate years), the couple tied the knot a month after she finished school.
On his deathbed, she allegedly promised her father that she wouldn’t get married until she graduated from college, and she stuck to her word.
On July 7, 1946, the pair exchanged wedding vows. When Jimmy was 21, Rosalynn was just 18.
The difficulties of daily life, much alone the rarity of reaching such a ripe old age, make it clear that a marriage of 75 years is no small effort.
While some may have drifted apart, the Carters have remained steadfastly committed to one another.
Throughout Jimmy’s administration, Rosalynn stood by his side, becoming one of his most trusted advisors. Rosalynn ran the family peanut business after the couple departed the White House and moved back to the house they had constructed in Plains.
How, therefore, do you think they’ve managed to stay together for so long—76 years and counting?
Apparently, it’s as easy as changing your attitude.
Jimmy said, “Our relationship has only strengthened.”
I’m constantly trying to find new activities for Jimmy and me to enjoy together. The expression was first used by Rosalynn. “Everyone needs their own personal place. That’s a major consideration.
It’s been great, Jimmy remarked. That’s saying something, considering I had much affection for her: “And I love her more now than I did at the beginning.”
As the former President has recently had several health scares, there has been significant interest in Jimmy Carter’s wellbeing. A survivor of brain cancer, and a fall in 2019 left him with a broken hip.
