Anniversary

It was 61 years ago today.  61 years ago, my parents both said “I do” before witnesses and God.  Sadly, neither of them lived to see this day.  But I have no doubt in my mind that they would still be together. They would take a drive on their anniversary to the same drive -in diner they went to when they were dating.  My father was never one for fancy restaurants.  He was never much of a romantic either.  On the night of their wedding they reached the hotel and he started emptying his pockets.  Out came electrical component after component.  He said, “I can’t believe I have 3 days off to start work on our new Hi-Fi set.  You can hold the pieces while I work.”  How they ended up with so many children, I’ll never know.  My mother was the only woman I’ve known who would get mad when her husband bought her flowers.  She always said, “It’s a waste of money.  They’re just going to die in a few days anyway.  And one rose means just as much as 12.”  That one ember of romanticism in dad was snuffed out. When he proposed it was typical Dad. He sat on the sofa next to my mother and pulled out a ring box.  Handing it to here he simply said, “Here.”  She opened it up to see a college class ring from his school.  Mom asked, “What does this mean?”  Dad was tongue-tied and did not speak for several minutes.  Then he said, “Well; do you want to get married or not?”  As it turns out, my father didn’t ride the bus to class at the University of Toronto all winter and had only a light jacket against the frigid wind blowing off Lake Ontario.  He did that so he could save and buy the best ring he could afford; his class ring.  Mom didn’t know the story behind it but to her it may as well have been the Hope Diamond.  She eagerly accepted and the rest, as they say, is history.  They shared an unbreakable love which only mortality could separate.  I’m coming up on my 26^th year anniversary and hope know my love will always be there for me.