27

Yesterday was Wifey and my 27th wedding anniversary. I had some mildly romantic plans -- I was going to take her to the stretch of Miami Beach where I proposed, say lovely words of nostalgic love, and then we'd go have dinner. Alas, the day got away from us. Wifey had two medical appointments, and I went with D1 to see an orthopedist. Fortunately, D1's bursitis is clearing up, and then I got a call from D2 in Gainesville, worried about a red and inflamed ear. Unfortunately, D2 inherited my anxiety about health issues, and was convinced she had some type of ear eating disease -- the kind that migrates to the brain and then its IT. Happily a trip to a Shands ER found otherwise -- probably a mild ear infection, or allergic reaction to some unknown allergen. Regardless, the events sort of drained away the romance, and at sunset I sat alone by our pool, drinking Ketel One, and struggling to get a fire started in our firepit. Wifey came home, and the fire miraculously caught, and we sat together in the cool night, watching the sparks and flames climb into the night sky. Dinner was a couple of turkey sandwiches, and then the Ketel sent me to sleep. Wifey allowed the strange rescue dog to sleep with us, which wasn't a good idea. At 3 am the sausage dog decided it was a good time to get up and demand attention. Wifey complied. So there it was -- the wee small hours of the morning, and we were both wide awake. So we started to talk, and talk, and talk. We talked about our Ds in the loving and lampooning way only their parents can -- about D1's eccentricities, and D2's sweetness with a VERY sharp edge when she's pushed... We spoke of our parents -- Grandma Sunny, and Wifey's declining set -- and their laughter and quirkiness. I repeated a tale about my idiot cousin that I had told Wifey hours before, while under the influence of 3 Ketels, and we laughed about my alcoholic fueled bouts of forgetfullness... The hours passed, A chilly wind blew in through the open windows. IT was lovely. And there it occurred to me -- we were doing the basic activity of loving couples -- we were getting each other through a long night. Wifey and I are so unlike in many ways, and our marriage is, like all marriages, unique to us. But on a long, chilly night, I still savor having her next to me. And so there will be, Big MAn permitting, a 28th, 29th, 30th -- well, let's not get crazy! Happy 27, Wifey. You don't bother me as much as the other girls...