Dates

Everyone has at least one date that is important. The very first day of your life. Your birth date.

As you get older and go through life's struggles and joys, you forget most dates but a few become very important. Most of those few, you had no idea would become important until the important event happened.

I have lots of good ones. My birthday, my anniversary, my kids birthdays, my husbands birthday...I could go on. Infact most of my important dates are good ones and reasons to celebrate. I'm grateful for that.

It's amazing how sometimes good dates can suddenly become bad ones for the rest of your life by a sudden tragedy. Not always sudden, I guess but tragedy for sure.

The dates I think of are my Nanny's birthday, Nanny's death, Pop's birthday, Pop's death...and today. Their anniversary. Usually such a happy day. These were 2 people who loved each other deeply and knew each other down to every hidden corner of themselves. They had more than just love...respect and admiration for each other. The kind of couple who had that look in their eyes instantly just from talking about the other..even when irritated with them.

They lived with the kind of marriage that I hope to strive for in my marriage every day of my life. There was nothing fake about it. It was the most HONEST relationship I've ever seen to this day.

So today, I try to remember the love instead of the sadness of missing them. Mostly it doesn't work, but it does make me grateful for the chance to have that with my husband.

Maybe it's because it's only been a year that they have been gone and emotions are still incredibly raw. Maybe in a few..or 10 years, it all turns around again and I can heal enough to just be happy on this date and remember their happiness. Maybe..maybe not..

Perfect love is a lie...true love is very much real.