Four years ago yesterday, Dave and I tied the knot.
What a fun day. One of the best. Both yesterday and that original October 5, 2006.
He hung out with friends worked at Franklin Covey back then, and we did the Eight Habits of a Successful Marriage course for free! It was a fun series of classes with great advice for couples, new and old. And, as a result we talked about and thought about a whole lot of topics that may not have otherwise been on our minds. We wrote a family mission statement, and came up with a family motto that has served us well through the years: Expect Miracles.
That first Christmas, I embroidered our motto onto a wall hanging for him (just what he wanted, I’m sure!) It serves as a daily reminder that if we keep doing our best, the best for us will come.
Our life has been a series of unexpected tender mercies. Each leads us a little way further down our path and then drops us off at the foot of yet another little miracle. Sometimes it comes in the form of tough times, sometimes in the form of unanswered questions, sometimes in the form of iphones🙂
Dave and I have an anniversary schedule. He plans one, then I plan one, then we plan one together. This year it was Dave’s turn. For our anniversary, he reviewed the past year, in miracles. And in prose. He is quite a poet but only busts it out for special occasions.
When I woke up there was a little box on the table with a note explaining:
“…before we move on
please let me be lyrical
and remember last year
miracle by miracle…”
The note ended with a clue sending me to the next note, and so on throughout the day. Oh, the box ended up being tissues that I was told to keep handy, as some of the memories from the year might “jerk a tear.” And some did. Can I share my favorite part? It’s from the note covering April and May:
“…Oh and who could forget our feathery guest
who hatched, fed, and protected the brood in her nest
But for what a great miracle were those robin eggs
No miracle was greater than Milo finding his legs
What a special moment for two generations
To witness the third begin ambulation
And with each step we watch him learn and grow
Our most miraculous miracle is Mister Milo
So give him a hug while I am away
And know that through him, I’m with you all day
Next tell him you love him and you will see
It’s as though you were saying those three words to me…”
I followed the trail of memories through miracle-enclosed notes, and enjoyed a special breakfast in Old Town, then a couple notes later was invited to join Dave for lunch in between classes near campus in DC, then a note revealed that he had a sitter planned for the evening and that I should “put on a dress, stylish heels, and get ready to dine…” and he would pick me up at “2 1/2 hours to nine.”
I took the opportunity to wear some recently handed-down-to-me heels. You know, I’m not getting any younger. Then I asked Dave to park as close to the restaurant as possible. We sauntered more than walked, which is a nice change for him from my usual clipping pace.
In fact, the saunter sort of set the tone for the most wonderful, delicious, cozy, conversational, memorable meal I’ve had to date. It was three hours of perfection. I told Dave it was probably the longest amount of time I’ve gotten to sit across from him, looking at his actual face, in his eyes, in the last year (or 17 months, as the case may be!) I loved every second of it. And every bite of the tcho chocolate torte. And every day of this life that I share with such a good good soul. This one who knows me so well that along with his traditional fourth anniversary gift of silk, he got me tickets to see Jimmy Fallon live in New York.
Happy Anniversary to us.
