Originally, we set our wedding date for February 15, 2003, a year and a day after I moved in with Daniel, in honor of the Pagan tradition I was following at the time.
But it didn't happen that way.
My father, who was suffering from renal disease, started having more complications, started taking falls. Mom was worried that he wouldn't make it to our wedding date, and one of the things that mattered the most to me when considering our wedding was that my father accompany me down the aisle. I didn't mind if I had to push him in a wheel chair, as long as he was there.
So, in late July of 2002, we changed our wedding date to October 12th of that year, exactly one year after Daniel and I met for the first time in person, and the day before my parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary.
And boy, did we have to plan fast!
And we had to accept that many of Daniel's family members would not be able to make it to Texas to share in our wedding festivities on such short notice, which was a disappointment to us both. We wanted to include everyone, and we decided that we would re-enact our wedding in Indianapolis the following Spring to extend the celebration and involve the folks who wouldn't be with us in Texas.
That second wedding day was six years ago today.
Not many people get to celebrate two wedding anniversaries, and I once told Daniel that we get two to make up for the number of years we weren't together.
We spent our day simply. We ate a tasty lunch at Panera, then went to Barnes and Noble to write, then to take a luscious walk at our favorite park on a warm, sunny afternoon. Being together is a gift every single day, but on days like this, we make an extra effort to notice, to remember, to cherish that we found each other and got to share our commitment to each other with people we love.
Happy Sixth Anniversary, Daniel. Times two. I am, as ever, so delighted and blessed and lucky, lucky, lucky to be the woman you chose.
Copyright 2009 Melissa LaFavers