Anniversary Sky
On October 15th, 1978, Wanda and I were married. We were engaged only three weeks, but we had spent more than four years falling in love. It was absolutely amazing to me that when I finally said, "Will you?" she said, "Yes!" I knew then, and have known ever since, that I was the luckiest man in the world.
She was taken from me by cancer just a few weeks after our 44th anniversary. We always took a special vacation for our anniversary, usually to a secluded place in the mountains, or the woods, or the seashore. When I lost her, I couldn't bear spending our special day at home alone, so I continued the tradition by taking a special trip, just as we always used to. That is why I always travel in October.
This was not our first anniversary vacation in Michigan. Our most frequent destinations were Michigan, the Blue Ridge Mountains, and the Hocking Hills region of Ohio, but we also traveled to Europe, Canada, the American Northwest and Southwest, and other places. Whether it was a brief three-day getaway or a three-week excursion, our anniversary travels were always very, very special. Cares and stresses and problems of everyday life disappeared the instant we left home, and our entire world condensed into a bubble of our own, private, intimate existence: shared talk, smiles, holding hands, solitude for two.
This is a photo I took on our anniversary, while hiking through a beautiful forest. Wanda was with me, as she always is and always must be: in my head and in my heart and entwined around my soul. I spoke with her: "Can you believe how gorgeous this day is? Isn't it amazing that we get to experience such beauty?" And I looked up through the trees to the incredible sky. If heaven is above, then I know my Wanda is there. And I know she's happy to be in a place so glorious, so wonderful, so peaceful.
Happy anniversary once again, my love.