Skip to main content

Happy Anniversary!




Early this morning I made Date Squares, our favorite road trip snack! 

Last night I went to bed hoping the weather would improve on Hwy 3 on route to Manning Provincial Park, but no; the winter storm warning is still in effect and the advice is not to venture onto the roads unless strictly necessary. Although for me it is, on this special day of the year; I turned to "your advice" and decided to wait for signs of improvement in the weather. Maybe tomorrow there will be a break in the weather and I can go visit one of our favorite places in British Columbia; I need this.

This morning I was also busy looking for a photograph that is alive in my mind but I could not find it; I could draw that image, I will describe it to you.

On December 20, 1994, my flight from New York landed in Seattle. You were waiting for me at the airport standing by the gate being so beautiful!

Our meeting after many months was wonderful, but we wanted to get married and we had to decide what to do next.  All planning was done in the lobby of The Edgewater Hotel. The place was beautifully decorated for Christmas, had a great atmosphere, wide couches, very comfortable, and there was a complementary phone in the lobby to make local calls. Really nice.

You were going through the Yellow Pages looking for someone who could marry us. As I gazed at you, I placed the camera on the chair in front of you, set the timer, and ran to your side - "Smile!" - snap! I think I framed your shoulders with my hands as I held you still and brought my face close to yours for the momento.

After a few phone calls, you found a small church that could do the ceremony. "Oh, you can marry us?  Great! What do we do in preparation? Ah, a license, okay, we will get it now... what time on the 22nd? We will be there!"

"There is no time to lose José, we have to go to the Marriage Department and get a marriage license!" - Incredible, just like that and we jumped into Christina's car and drove a few blocks to the King County Marriage Department.

When we got there, to my surprise, there was a queue to get licenses!  "We are not the only ones!" - you said between your teeth with a big grin in your face; always had something cheeky to say!  We were so excited, and on a day like today, 27 years ago, I heard the most beautiful speech from a pastor and my life changed forever.

Happy anniversary darling!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

It's been a Long Time Since I've Seen Her

To our daughters; I learned so much from your mother!  She was my lover and my bosom friend.    The summer of 1992 was running in earnest and Mom and I were escaping every day to many different places around the mainland.  We were having the time of our lives!  At the end of the summer, I did not have a penny left but was the happiest man alive! Mom had a white 1989 Chevrolet Cavalier station wagon.  Her car smelled like a wet dog, Sam, her dog, was the main passenger before she met me.  That car would break down every 100 kilometers or so and would run out of gas as soon as the gas red light went on, and guess who had to push; your Dad!  But, we were like peas and carrots and as happy as they came. You always tell me - " Dad, you know strange old words and expressions no one uses these days! " Your mom is responsible for that! I learned what a "Sea Shanty" is in that white Cavalier listening to CBC radio.   The station had a show on sai...

Dear Love

  Dear Love, Forgive me, it has been a while since I have written to you.  It is not for the lack of news; home is buzzing with events typical of growing pains and gaining experience.  For me, it is just about missing your hands, warm body, your words; missing planning something to do together.  I must admit, you always had the best ideas. Recently I became a Master Chef , but not the kind of chef popular among all ages; oh, no!  I cook your dishes, daring, adventurous, and full of flavor!  I set the table and see you on your chair , right opposite to mine displaying my favorite smile, approving the dinner.   I remember when you made Spaghetti Tomato Bassilic for the first time.  You thought that I was not going to like it.  Boy, were you in for a surprise!  It became my favorite dinner!  You made it for me.  What a treat! Oh, Christina, you were the wife I always wanted to have!  The fact that we found each other mad...

The Daily

  The most difficult aspect of losing a spouse is keeping the daily sanity balance.   We all experience this in different ways and there is no prescription or magic recipe to make things better all of a sudden.  It is not possible.  You might hear from friends and family members that one needs to move on, that there is nothing we can do, that life on earth is for the living, and so on.  I understand the words but what I feel, based on my own experience is hard, it hurts.  We live through all of these, but it is a balancing act. It is especially challenging for parents.   We have two daughters, they are 18 and 21 years old.  No one is ready to lose their mother at an early age.  For them, it continues to be very difficult.  I have noticed that they grieve differently.  One of them has addressed the loss of her mother head-on while the other embraced the situation stoically by herself.   I did not try to change her...