A Wedding and A Funeral

February 19, 1989

Twenty five years ago today, I was waking up, excited, sick with bronchitis, and so very happy. It was my wedding day.

I got up, and joined by my mother, sisters and girlfriends, I was made into a beautiful bride. Dress, hair, makeup, stockings, heels -everything was groomed and primped, styled and smoothed. (There was also a lot of cough syrup and hot tea with honey and lemon.)

The wedding was magical, truly one of the best days of my life. The honeymoon that followed was incredible, one of the best weeks of my life. The marriage that unfolded was and is my life, with all the joy, pain, frustration, exaltation, passion and love that life has to offer. For the last twenty-five years, I have had a husband, my life’s partner, by my side. I am so very lucky. I am so blessed.

Today, our twenty-firth anniversary, my husband and I are taking the morning away from work. Together, we are going to a funeral service. Today, Doctor William Grattan is being put to rest. Dr. Grattan was a physician, a musician, a farmer, a father and a husband. The first time that I saw Bill with his wife Christine, I noticed the way his hand rested on her arm, and how he glanced at her as she walked across the room. That is when I knew that he was not just a husband; this was a man passionately and deeply in love with his wife.

Today, on our anniversary, my husband and I are going to a funeral. We are going to say our goodbyes to Doctor William Anthony Grattan. We are doing this to honor the man, his work, his family and his marriage. We are doing this to honor our marriage.

On this day, my twenty-fifth anniversary, I am going to the funeral of a friend and respected colleague. I am going with my husband, my life partner by my side. And I know that I am so very lucky. I am so blessed.

Michelle
May all babies be born into loving hands