We are nearing an anniversary -- the 10th to be specific. On July 4, 1997 I proposed. Marriage, if specificity is still required. During the fireworks. I tried to convince her that the colorful explosions were just for her. She bought it -- the proposal, that is; not the bit about the fireworks. Even so, fireworks have been special to us ever since. They are festive, explosive reminders to us of all that has erupted from the chemical reaction of a timid but hopeful "Will you..." stirred together with an exuberant "I will!" So it is that for the 10th consecutive year we will make our way outside with a blanket and a grin, take our seats beneath a darkening sky, and wait for the curtain to open.
It is but the largest way we have tried to practice specificity. Our lives are not, after all, general conditions blurred together, but particular words and deeds and gestures and choices. Some of those particularities, like the anniversary of our engagement, are calendarized. Others are simply noticed and named at the time -- sometimes for the significance and celebration they represent; other times for the pain or the poignancy they have elicited. Regardless, we are trying to practice the fine art of paying attention -- to the details, but ultimately to their significance.
A taste. A touch. A compliment. An insight glimpsed. A kindness extended. A grace conveyed. Exhilaration. Awe. A lump in the throat. A tear.
And sometimes, in the midst of fireworks exploding, all of the above.
2 comments:
Yesssssssssssssssssssssss!!!
Keep paying attention to the details and you'll be celebrating many such anniversaries. Congratulations to both of you.
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