On Sunday afternoon, we were walking down on the shore path in lower Gibsons when we ran across the brother of our previous downstairs neighbour. When we lived in the house with the crazy landlady, Mona and her son lived below us, and Blaine -- her brother -- visited often. In fact, without knowing either of us, he pitched in a strong and tireless hand to help us move in in the first place.
So. We came up on Blaine, who was sitting on a park bench with a beer and a cigarette. We stopped to say 'hi' with at least a little trepidation as drunk Blaine was sometimes a little volatile. Turned out he wasn't volatile at all: he told us how nice it was to see us together as we were one of the nicest couples, and so beautiful together, and so in love, and we warmed his heart.
When we told him we were getting married, he was just estatic. He told us to hold on to it, and came over a bit emotional... he said he was married to his second wife for 18 years before she died in a car accident. This explains so much -- why Blaine, who is sociable and kind and good-hearted would drink so much, and seem to have a limited social circle, and why Mona, who bore the brunt of his outbursts, would have given him so much slack.
We left, hand in hand and dog behind, in great realization that we are very, very lucky to have found what we have in each other, and that our priority should be preserving and enjoying it, as life is short and unpredictable.
*sigh*
It's almost as if the worst thing about being in love is that you know it would hurt so very much to lose your partner. It's unthinkable, unbelievable... but still. Sometimes a reminder to cherish each other every day, every minute, is good. Not that we don't, but I want our 18th year and our 50th year to be just as precious as this past one has been.
A woman came into the office the other day and headed right over to my desk. She sat down and said that she came in three months ago for insurance, and since those three months were up, I should be getting married any minute! And yes, I am! Was? Will be? I thought it was so sweet, but weddings really do seem to bring out the best in people. I do hope that trend continues, as I know weddings can also bring out the stresses, especially in families.
I had lovely chats with my cousins Debbie & Anita. I don't know if they'll be able to make it, but I know their hearts will be with me. We've had a few people trickle off the RSVP list, but I think we'll still end up with 80-90, which is what we expected. Hey! If you haven't RSVP'd yet, it would be great if you did!
There's still lots to do, but it's all managable. I'm dropping off cake plates for the baker tomorrow and the ring for sizing next week; shoes and undies will be this weekend (but if I don't find any, there's some on the Coast I like).
I've also made time for some important sanity-preserving measures: I've planted some flowers (though they may all be drowned in the thundery deluge this afternoon), we've gone on walks, and tonight I had a heavenly massage. Yay!
We've received a few gifts in the mail and I'm so humbled by people's generosity.
Oh, and I'm tired and babbling.
Goodnight! And give your loved ones an extra hug, 'k?
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