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anniversary
October 2008 
Being Grateful
Posted on Aug 9th, 2008
by 
Debi
Debi
Last night True and I went to a fifteenth wedding anniversary party for our best friends. These are the people we feel closest to, the people we can go months without seeing and pick up right where we left off. These are the people who rejuvenate our love for each other, for our children, and for our life. Almost fourteen years ago, True and I sat at the dining room table of these newlyweds, amidst a lavish dinner party, and suddenly saw the rest of our lives flash before us -- and knew, in that moment, we would be together forever.
Since that moment which True and I count as among the most spiritual of our lives, our friends have bought a house, had two children, changed jobs, traveled, and, in the last few years, endured the most terrifying series of health scares I hope anyone I know ever has to go through. The husband/father, after years of constant small seizures that left him unable to work or drive, finally had surgery this year, and is now seeing life improvements they could not have imagined a year ago. This anniversary party -- held on 08/08/08, a lucky-feeling number -- was the celebration of more than just an average fifteen years of marriage. It was the celebration of life itself, of what matters, of the simple things they were not sure they'd see.
In their lives, our friends have immigrated to this country -- the wife from Russia to the US as a little girl, the husband from Russia to Israel as a teenager, then from Israel to the US in his very early 20s. They've worked to bring his parents, sister, brother-in-law, and niece and nephew to the US from Israel. They've had two beautiful children. The wife has dedicated her life to social work, helping people in the very community her family joined as immigrants decades ago. In every aspect, this family's life is an inspiration.
Last night, the party was held at an over-the-top Russian restaurant complete with live musicians, stunning centerpieces, and a room full of people dressed to the nines. His best friend came all the way from Paris to celebrate with them. In the tradition that True and I have finally come to remember after all these years, many people brought large bouquets of roses for the happy couple. Shouts of "goika, goika!," which I am told means something like "make the bitterness sweeter by kissing!" resounded all night. Our friends' children -- who we love like our own -- ran with their cousins all night, darting in and out of the dancers and laughing happily.
I watched as my friend came suddenly into the room around 10pm to the strains of "Here Comes the Bride," clad in the wedding dress she'd worn fifteen years before. Her husband took one look at her and visibly swooned, then gathered her into his arms and buried his face in her neck. They held each other as half the room fought tears.
How fortunate True and I are to have a couple like this in our lives as our friends -- two people who absolutely adore each other and their children, who know what joy is and how to find it, and who open their arms to the people around them in a gesture that seems to say "come, be happy with us!"
Since that moment which True and I count as among the most spiritual of our lives, our friends have bought a house, had two children, changed jobs, traveled, and, in the last few years, endured the most terrifying series of health scares I hope anyone I know ever has to go through. The husband/father, after years of constant small seizures that left him unable to work or drive, finally had surgery this year, and is now seeing life improvements they could not have imagined a year ago. This anniversary party -- held on 08/08/08, a lucky-feeling number -- was the celebration of more than just an average fifteen years of marriage. It was the celebration of life itself, of what matters, of the simple things they were not sure they'd see.
In their lives, our friends have immigrated to this country -- the wife from Russia to the US as a little girl, the husband from Russia to Israel as a teenager, then from Israel to the US in his very early 20s. They've worked to bring his parents, sister, brother-in-law, and niece and nephew to the US from Israel. They've had two beautiful children. The wife has dedicated her life to social work, helping people in the very community her family joined as immigrants decades ago. In every aspect, this family's life is an inspiration.
Last night, the party was held at an over-the-top Russian restaurant complete with live musicians, stunning centerpieces, and a room full of people dressed to the nines. His best friend came all the way from Paris to celebrate with them. In the tradition that True and I have finally come to remember after all these years, many people brought large bouquets of roses for the happy couple. Shouts of "goika, goika!," which I am told means something like "make the bitterness sweeter by kissing!" resounded all night. Our friends' children -- who we love like our own -- ran with their cousins all night, darting in and out of the dancers and laughing happily.
I watched as my friend came suddenly into the room around 10pm to the strains of "Here Comes the Bride," clad in the wedding dress she'd worn fifteen years before. Her husband took one look at her and visibly swooned, then gathered her into his arms and buried his face in her neck. They held each other as half the room fought tears.
How fortunate True and I are to have a couple like this in our lives as our friends -- two people who absolutely adore each other and their children, who know what joy is and how to find it, and who open their arms to the people around them in a gesture that seems to say "come, be happy with us!"
Access: Public
That is so sweet!