A Union of Many Colors
Throughout each of our lives, there have been many Unions (of all sorts) - and within our marriage (without losing our own individual identities), there has been a single Union of the heart.
This Fall Break, Michael and I departed on an adventure to visit friends (new residents of Boston) and to participate in emptying more experiences from the Bucket List (this time, from Michael’s bucket). He chose to explore New England in the Fall and I was fortunate enough to join him!
Although each leaf expresses its own glorious color, they still stem from a single trunk.
Scientifically, It is my understanding that the color change in leaves during the fall is caused by changes in the levels of pigments in the leaves, specifically chlorophyll, carotenoids, and anthocyanins. As the seasons change, so do the leaves.
This is how our hearts operate.
(sorry to get so sappy- get it? S-A-P-P-Y! Arrr-Arr)
I can sense things in him without him verbalizing it
We often call each other or text each other at the same exact time
We share the same common silly jokes
We have a knack of memorizing endless amounts of useless unbroken movie sound bites - capturing the proper mood or a perfectly timed moment simultaneously (often cracking ourselves up - yet, perplexing our surrounding company)
This year we celebrate 29 years of marriage, (plus 3 years of sin).
When Michael proposed, we were on the top of the tallest mountain in Southern California (San Gorgonio). Standing at 11,503 feet tall, we took two days to backpack up the mountain accompanied by my sweet Springer Spaniel, Gwen. What I wasn’t aware of, however, was that he was packing additional weight in the form of a bottle of champagne, a bottle of wine and my mom’s crystal glasses (WITH permission of course).
On the second day of the hike, we made it to the peak. Our puppy was exhausted and I stood tall in awe of the view before us. “Michael, take a look at this beautiful site!” Suddenly, I see a gaggle of old men simultaneously empty their sierra cups (remember those?). I thought this odd and yet was only annoyed with Michael for not standing alongside me to witness this beautiful site.
Requesting him to stand again, this time I looked down at his face, “Michael, take a look …..”
He just looked up at me with a smile on his face while kneeling on a single knee. He had brought out the crystal glasses and bottle of champagne from his backpack (which is why the gaggle of older men had emptied their cups of water).
While these men extended their cups toward Michael, Michael extended his hand toward me. Ringless and poor, he asked me to join him in a life together.
The men? Well, they (obviously) asked for champagne and responded enthusiastically when Michael offered them to join us in a toast. “Oh, why, YES, Yes, yes. Why YES, we’ll toast to the happy couple” (they feigned their modesty - and most likely requested a second serving, although I may not have noticed THAT part).
It is my intention to live another 30 years with this man. I’m sure we’ll be faced with more challenges within our family and community Unions, but I wouldn’t want it any other way.
As a single tree differentiates its colors and shapes from its neighboring tree and perhaps even from its own self - so do we change as our faces gain another wrinkle and our mid-section alters its belt size. There within sustains a strength and propensity to endure if not for all those around us but for the beat of the heart that is communally felt.
Enjoy YOUR Union of Many Colors!
