Thirty Years Ago Today

My Wife and I in Front of Church Where we Were Married
(photo by J.M.J.)

Today is my anniversary – thirty years ago today I married the gal who turned out to be the love of my life.  She woke me up with a phone call at 6am today and we finalized plans for my flight down to Panama tomorrow to link up.  We’ve got a big party planned for Saturday to celebrate.  Thirty years is a long time but it really does seem to have flown by.  Every marriage goes through tough times but I’m glad we emerged through ours (actually pretty few considering the challenges) and now we’re enjoying what I guess are the twilight years and still being together.  I should finally set the record straight on our somewhat unorthodox courtship.  As a young lieutenant, I had noticed her at the Officer’s Club a couple of times, devastating eyes, but never approached her.  I finally got up the courage and asked her to dance one Friday night.  We spent the rest of the night dancing and I asked her to a party on Saturday night at the Bachelor’s Officer Quarters.  There was really something electric between us.  She spoke no English and I only spoke enough Spanish to get myself in trouble, but we communicated.  We had a great time and as I was bringing her home that night I asked her out again for Sunday.  We went out to dinner that Sunday at the Fort Amador Officer’s Club and as we left we were sitting in my car looking at the moon reflected off the water at the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal and I asked her to marry me.  To my surprise and ultimate delight she said yes.  The next couple of months were spent convincing her family that this was a good idea.  Her mother was a huge skeptic and her father instructed me to learn Spanish so he could provide the necessary guidance.  We met in November and were married in a civil ceremony in January so it really was a somewhat whirlwind romance.  She didn’t consider us married until the church ceremony in March.  I think all friends and family didn’t give us a chance – but here we are thirty years later.    It was a snap decision on my part and probably due in no small part to the fact that I had just returned to Panama from my sister’s wedding where I had a fantastic time.  There’s an old saying that you’ll know the girl you’re going to marry the moment you meet.  My problem up to that point was that I felt every girl I dated was that girl.  I’m certain that chased off more than a few but it turns out it was because the girl I was meant to marry was waiting for me down in Panama.  In later years I felt guilty that I had not made more of an effort to get my family down for the wedding but at the time I didn’t want to make them pay (my mother had just paid for my sister’s wedding) for the airfare and travel was not as easy back then as it is today.  I’m looking forward to getting down to Panama tomorrow to properly celebrate with love of my life.  Buddy goes down to my sister’s house tonight. I hope to keep blogging from there but we’ll see.  I finished yet another 1000 piece puzzle last night, time for the wife to come home and complicate my life – it’s been much too boring without her.

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