Little did I know, waking this Sunday morning, just what this day had in store for me, my family, my country, and the world. Sunday, May first, my and Eric's twelve year wedding anniversary. That perfect white dress. The bouquet of purple flowers. The most gorgeous day of the entire year that I prayed in earnest for as the ceremony was to be held outside at the Music Stand Pavilion at Tower Grove Park. I wish I could do it all over again. Maybe I've been watching a little too much "Say Yes to the Dress".
My husband gave me a lovely anchor necklace as a gift. I mentioned I wanted one and had been looking on etsy and just didn't find exactly what I was hoping for. He asked what a lot of women would be happy to hear. "Did you check Tiffany's?" "Um, no, I haven't, but thanks for the idea!" A day or so later I checked on-line and sure enough, Tiffany's did have an anchor necklace. They didn't have the dimensions listed so I had to call them and inquire about the size. I ended up ordering it and it is very lovely.
I wanted an anchor, because, to me, it symbolized our marriage. Eric is very much my anchor (and I hope I am his). My husband also served in the Navy and that means a lot to me. Both my and Eric's father served in the military and I always hoped that I would marry a man who chose the same path. Upon receiving the necklace, Eric commented that another reason he liked it is because there is a cross in it. THAT really made it even more meaningful for me.
Earlier in the week, Eric told me that he was going to take the family out for a celebratory breakfast. The Blue Owl is our family's go to place. It is local, delicious, and has pie! We only go there for breakfast and we all look forward to it.
We sat on the porch and shared a gigantic cinnamon roll. We looked in the pastry case and dreamed of taking a single bite of everything. I noticed a new cake called "Rhett Butler". It was tall, white, and had dark chocolate curls on top. I left inspired to do damage in my kitchen in the name of pastry and sugar.
That afternoon, I took the girls to their 4-H entomology class. It was their second class with the education director of the Butterfly House. Their teacher is really terrific. I love learning right along with them: flass- insect poop, monarch chrysalises are transparent,there are no nerve endings in butterfly wings. Super exciting stuff!
In the evening, we met my folks for our anniversary dinner. We went to Texas Roadhouse. Not fancy, but still a good fun place. There, another unexpected surprise awaited us. We were seated in an out of the way corner where two families from my daughter's school were also seated. These particular families were from Audrey's class. She attended a local Christian school for kindergarten and first grade. I've homeschooled her for the past three years and we recently decided to reenroll her. I had the paperwork and enrollment check filled out in the car and was planning on turning it in the next morning. I've been really nervous and hesitant to hand it in even though I know it is the best thing for her.
One of the moms immediately came over and shared a very personal story with all of us. Nearly a year ago, she gave birth to an adorable baby boy who has Down's Syndrome. She had invited friends to dine at Texas Roadhouse that evening because the restaurant was going to donate 10% of the proceeds to the Down's Syndrome Foundation. She gave us a ticket to turn in when we paid our bill so that our 10% would be included.
She was so sweet and told us the story of how at 11 weeks into her surprise pregnancy, she found out that the baby she was carrying had Down's. Then, further into the pregnancy, she was told the baby had a heart malformation that would require surgery. She really shared a lot of herself and the experience and it was so touching. There were more details, and suffice to say, that baby is a true miracle. He already has had a successful heart surgery and he really is just gorgeous. My mom and I held him and he really took to my mom. He held her face with both of this hands and sucked her chin. It was such a sweet moment.
Reconnecting with this woman and the other mom from Audrey's class really brought me a little more peace about our decision to reenroll her in school. A lot of kids in her old class know she is returning and they are excited. I just want this to be a positive experience for Audrey and I truly think it will be.
At the end of dinner, my husband really surprised and blessed me with his actions and words. When the bill came, he immediately took it. He told my parents that he was treating them to dinner because twelve years ago, they paid for our wedding. THEN he thanked them for letting him marry me. Seriously? I know he loves me, but this was not expected. I feel so undeserving of him. Can love multiply year after year?
This brings us to this morning. We are not news watchers unless you consider The Daily Show or Weekend Update to be the news. We have one television in our home and most stories on the local news aren't really appropriate for young children (in our opinion). Because of this, we were unaware of the huge development that had happened until the morning of May 2nd.
Eric left for work and came right back in. He had such an unreadable look on his face and he told me I would never believe what happened. I was immediately alarmed thinking it was something terrible. Then he told me that Osama bin Laden had been killed. Wow. We actually turned on the real news to find out the details.
One doesn't wake up on a daily basis with a renewed sense of patriotism and pride. Today reminded me that despite our differences, our country is the UNITED States of America. I think more times than not, the division of our thoughts and opinions stand out more than the unity of them. There is such strength when we're unified. This event was a powerful reminder. I wonder if anybody else noticed. I hope so.
May first turned out to be a monumental day for all of humanity, as well as for my own little family. We celebrated love, reconnected with acquaintances, and saw the end of an evil life. I think all of the day's events have personally reminded me that there is always hope, love is the answer, and with patience comes strength.
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