39 Years
For the past 9 years I have tried to have some creative angle on how to celebrate our wedding anniversary without Jim. It might seem a weird thing to honor and yet remembering Jim is what I do anyway. Marriage is a big deal and I am grateful for the one I had. So I continue to remember the day I changed my name. I don’t make it a big deal; I don’t go out to a fancy meal alone or anything similarly ridiculous. Just the following!
- 31 went to Baskin Robbins with my kids
- 32 attended a Dodger Game for Sandy Koufax #32 bobblehead night
- 33 made a Picture Frame out of a record album
- 34 Went to 34th street Newport beach where He asked me to be his wife and ate choc. covered strawberries
- 35 Sorted all the 35 mm pictures and scanned them from
slides – finally! - 36 The year of Bone China so I bought a teapot
- 37 This is a prime number so I bought something on Amazon Prime. Then I rode the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland
- 38 wanted to go to the 38th parallel (Northern CA) but it was on fire so went with the kids to AZ instead
So this year I tried to think of something clever and the only thing I could think of for 39 is the length of a meter! That seemed too much of a stretch to do anything about, as did any reference to Meter in music or the perpetual age of Jack Benny. So, instead, I went to the American Museum of Magic in Marshall, Michigan. While it may seem random, there are reasons! First of all, Jim was a magician. Also, he knew it was there and always wanted to visit it when we lived in the midwest but we never made it. So on my trip to Michigan I employed the car and the companionship of my BFF and off we went! We both thought it would be “lame” and wondered more than once on the way, in a summer thunderstorm, if it was really going to be worth it, but we were doing it for Jim! Well, it was worth it!
It was very interesting. We both learned a lot and we spent much longer than we had anticipated wandering through the museum. Jim would have loved it! And, on a side note: This is the last year I can say I was married for more than half my life!
So an extraordinary day, the day I changed my name and a whole lot more, that I celebrated for 30 years with Jim has become an ordinary day. Even though I cannot stop thinking about Jim, even though I carry him forever in my heart, I hold my memories in and thank the Lord quietly for the man He gave me. I do celebrate in some small way every day and our kids reflect his heart.
It was a good day today. I went to work and wore the T-shirt I bought at the museum. I ate junk food and cried a little. I got greetings and love from many friends. I was blessed to be married to my best friend, to do ministry side by side and create 2 amazing kids. Pretty magical. Thank you Lord.