A Joyous Perspective on Anniversaries: Figuratively Speaking

It's Friday, and time for another Thought Tale Hour with the Hendersons. Today marks a day that changed both of our lives forever: Chris and I unified our lives together under one roof. Maybe it's because we both got burned before when we practiced the tradition of commemorating the number of years we had been married, but Chris and I had not focused on our own anniversary in our joint union.

But then we lost our oldest son, Seth, and our perspective on commemoration was completely altered.

It's always amazing to me how many parts of our lives were impacted by this loss.  Actually, it's hard to find something that wasn't affected...  Seth and his twin sister were the most disappointed of all the kids that we did not make an 'event' out of our marriage.  He was very angry with us that he wasn't offered the opportunity to be there.  I remember telling him what I still believe today, which was, that the day we got legally married was not the actual day we became joined and committed.  For us, the day that I arrived in Illinois with all of my earthly possessions and two of my biological children was the day that we said, "I do", and we did.

After Seth died, we started noting many 'anniversaries'.

The day he graduated from Basic Training, the day he left for Germany, the last day we spoke to him, and of course - the day he died.  Sad anniversaries, but significant ones too.  One day a few years ago, after Memorial Day and another sad time, Chris said to me, "We need to start having some happy anniversaries and days to look forward to. I'm getting worried that we are becoming too focused on what is sad about our life."  Of course, he was right.

We have a lot to be thankful for.  Let's be thankful.

Then and there, we agreed to start celebrating our figurative "anniversary" of the day we joined forces, June 21, 2000. It's a happy day to remember, and we can both look back and smile at how much better we are together, from that day forward.

So how about you? 

What are your happy points in your life's journey? 
Do you celebrate them, or have you let them become commonplace?

So tonight, we will drink our version of our favorite couple drink, "Caucasians". We are quite the 'Big Lebowski' fans.  Like our 19 years together, it's a blend of the simple, the sweet and the dramatic.  Thank you to all who have made it so very memorable.
CHEERS FRIENDS!

Joy's Caucasians**

1 oz of Van Gogh Espresso Vodka
1 oz of Van Gogh Dutch Chocolate Vodka
2 oz of Kahlua
3 oz of half and half

Fill a tall glass with ice. Make sure it's tall enough to handle 8oz of liquid with ice.  Add vodkas, then Kahlua.  Now top off with half and half.  Place a long spoon in the glass and stir lightly.

**Always drink responsibly