Happy Anniversary

Today would have been my parent’s 46th wedding anniversary.  They were married at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in South Orange in 1967.  They met at Columbia High School and began dating after my mom invited my dad to a “Sadie Hawkin’s Dance.”  Most of their married years were spent in Maplewood, although they did live in Washington, DC while my father finished his last year of college.  Together they raised four children and were great role models for all of us and I know we are all the people we are today because of their values and morals.

This morning, my dad had yellow flowers sent to their home, just like he did every year.  He always signed his cards to her, “Love, your Italian Leprechaun.”  This year was no different.  He did not want to do anything elaborate tonight.  He and my brothers went up to my grandma’s house and had dinner with her and my aunt and uncle.  They kept it simple.  Even when mom was around to celebrate, they never wanted to do anything, “just the two of them.”  They always said that their children were a product of their life together and so they always wanted to spend the evening with us.  In past years, we would all take them to dinner to celebrate.  Sometimes it wasn’t on the actual night because of commitments with our kids, but we always found a ways to celebrate them.  It was his choice to not do anything big.  He told us all to go on with our regular obligations for the night.  He knew that we were all thinking of them tonight.

I talked to my dad earlier in the day and wished him a Happy Anniversary.  I did not get a chance to get to the cemetery today to tell my mom but I had my own “private chat” with her in the car.  Hopefully she heard me and knows that we are all thinking of her today.

Tagged: 46th anniversary, anniversary in heaven, first anniversary apart, Happy Anniversary