February 18, 2012

What if you met the love of your life, and found yourself still in love, and married, after 61 years? It isn't a fairy tale, it's my parents' marriage.

Once upon a time, circa 1950, my mother went to a party as the date of a friend. She really would have preferred to stay home; she was tired and wanted to wash her hair. But at that party, she met my father. This was a different time, men had come back from World War II and many women had married their high school and childhood sweethearts when they returned from war. My mother almost did that, but she knew something was wrong with that union, and had broken off the relationship a couple of years before meeting my father. But, I digress...

My parents describe the night they met as a magical evening of great chemistry and conversation. At the end of the evening, my father said, "I'd love to ask you out, but I hear you have a long waiting list for Saturday nights." My mother hesitated for about two seconds, and said, "I'm free Friday night." Rumor has it they had a great time that night, but my father had two wisdom teeth pulled that afternoon and developed lock jaw near the end of their date (just a small complication). It seems my mother didn't care. Six months later they were engaged, and my mother had moved to New York because my father was stationed out of New London, Connecticut - it was a great career move and they could smooch when he was on shore leave (ahem).

Not long after my mother moved to New York, my parents were married in a small ceremony at my maternal grandparent's house in Washington, DC. There's a little back story there, because of a blizzard, but the groom made it south despite the snow and I hear the rest of his three-day pass was well spent during their brief honeymoon

My parents, now octogenarians, have been through several health scares and their children have caused them some anxiety. But the greatest lesson they have taught me is this: you can find someone that rings your chimes and have that love last. Thanks, mom and dad.

And happy anniversary. Love you both.

I have been checking the weather over at http://spaceweather.com/ quite regularly lately, interesting stuff there; you should take a peep or two and see what you think.

The Daylog: 18-Feb-2012

11 nodes were added to the 'gel on Sat 18-Feb-2012
Highest-rated w/u: February 18, 2012 (log) by NanceMuse at +30 Rep

Among them:

BranRainey rediscovers that old alchemy that has made many a good E2 w/u: GTKY node + misleadingly saucy title = I learnt how to perform cunnilingus while on holiday with my boyfriend.

A node by dannye is always welcome. This one is a rumination on tight-wound American religious communities and the Amish tradition of rumspringa, with a pointedly-worded aside about this year's US presidential campaign.

"I would like for you to consider your current opinions about Mormonism. You hate them, don't you? Even though you didn't really have much of an opinion about them this time last year. And even though almost every time you hear someone speak evil of them, it ends with, "Now, don't get me wrong: The Mormons I've known IRL are some of the nicest folks I've ever met." ..."

Tem42 posted a fun, excellent w/u on nonce words that ties together ideas from some other recent nodes about language.

"The most common method of creating nonce words, and the easiest on the reader, is to use familiar word parts in new ways; from the obsolete hexagonally to the modern truthiness, wordsmiths have always created new words by combining old words with old pieces in new ways. Edgar Allen Poe gave us the ever-popular tintinnabulation, H.P. Lovecraft gave us the rather less useful hippocephalic, and Snoop Doggy Dogg gave us bootylicious. ..."

And deus-ex-machina added a sudden, erotic non-sequitur to the Bacon node-- currently sitting at -3 Rep but c'mon, noders. I love the idea that any node can take an unexpected detour into all-out sexytimes.

Rounding out the rest: 2 daylogs-- including NanceMuse's well-written & well-received 61st anniversary tribute to her parents (above), surreal flash-fiction from Longwalker, a poem by Eniteris somewhat in the form of Lawrence Ferlinghetti's "I Am Waiting" (sorry, E, I still like the original better), factuals by nilsbarth and Laiam, and Orangeduck's unconventional review of Dear Ester that, despite its meanderings, does get to an interesting point re: games vs art vs life.