“A Marriage is a commitment to that which you are. That person is literally your other half. And you and the other are one…a marriage is a life commitment, and a life commitment means the prime concern of your life…In marriage, every day you love, and every day you forgive. It is an ongoing sacrament—love and forgiveness…Like a yin/yang symbol…Here I am, and here she is, and here we are.”
—Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth
“A soulmate is someone who has locks that fit our keys, and keys to fit our locks. When we feel safe enough to open the locks, our truest selves step out and we can be completely and honestly who we are…Each unveils the best part of the other. No matter what else goes wrong around us, with that one person we’re safe in our own paradise.”
—RIchard Bach
It is hard to believe Cecile, that we have been married for forty-four years which is the equivalent to 528 months,16,060 days, 385,440 hours and 23,126,400 minutes. When I think about our relationship, it is akin to the flowering red Camellia we planted on the side of our town home at Rinconada Hills that we both adore. In China, the camellia represents the union between two lovers. The delicately layered petals represents the woman, and the calyx (the green leafy part of the stem that holds the petals together) represents the man who protects her (Though God knows you’ve saved me plenty of times:) The two components are joined together, even after death. Typically when the petals of a flower fall off, the calyx will stay intact. With camellias however, every botanist knows that the calyx and the petals fall away together which is why the camellia also represents eternal love or long-lasting devotion.
As your husband I want you to remember that in my book you are beautiful, compassionate, loving, worthy, important, special, unique, talented, irreplaceable and a pure soul.
Happy Anniversary, my love. I look forward to the next chapter in our lives. As the camellia teaches us, a true love story has no ending.
Postscript: A few photo memories of the last leg of our 30th anniversary trip in 2007 that included a colorful day at the Hong Kong Flower Show which curiously was celebrating its 30th year anniversary.
