This morning my daughter sent me this picture.
She took it 11 years ago today. The original plan was for me to take Becky out for dinner on our 37th anniversary. But her strength just wasn't there. So our daughter prepared dinner for us. She decorated our formal living room like a fancy European restaurant. Then she served us an exquisite Swiss meal, which included some delicious fondue. It was quite a celebration. We had been given the indescribably precious gift of time, and we were going to enjoy it to the max. Even now I'm breathless thinking about the beauty I saw in Becky's eyes that night. I knew I just needed to be grateful, to savor the moment, to revel in the fact that the monsters had stayed in their closets just for an evening while my wife and I settled in for a delectable feast.
Seven weeks later she would be in heaven.
I wish that evening could have lasted forever. Nothing this side of forever will ever be long enough. I'm desperately trying to find words to explain what that evening meant to me. Sitting here at my writing desk, the house quiet all around me, I remember how I felt when such a lavish meal was served by such loving, caring, thoughtful hands. And now, suddenly, that daughter is grown, with a husband and a newborn of her own. There's so much future for us to look forward to together. But I will never forget the night that God took a milestone and shot it through with his unmistakable love through the selfless act of someone Becky loved and who loved her to the end.
Anyway, Happy Anniversary, honey. You loved us well. You will never be forgotten.