Tomorrow is Dave's birthday. Don't ask me what number because I'd have to do the math. We'll be celebrating on Sunday with the kids and tomorrow I will prepare him a feast of steamed clams, locally made french bread, as well as an attempt at my "Mother's Salad". Anyone who knew my Mom, new she made a killer salad. Nailed it every time. I cannot recreate this salad no matter how much I try. I always said it was the vinegar, but I've got "the vinegar" and the oil and everything else (even the Accent'), and it always tastes off. It's Dave's favorite salad, so to commorate this special occasion, I, Connie Clementino Heizer, will, yet again, attempt to recreate my "Mother's Salad". Who knows, I may get lucky! Perhaps this proves my theroy that things you cook directly reflect your personality. It's like giving the 10 people the same recipe and somehow they will all come out different.
I turned 50 this year and I've witnessed the Towers crumble, snow in Petaluma, war in the middle East, the election of Obama and I've done it all with Dave by my side. He's the first person I think about when I witness someone being an ass hole, admire the silhouette of the Sonoma Mountains or see a beautiful sunset. He's my best friend, my partner and often times my caretaker. My life would be significantly different had I not had his humor, brevity or loyalty. He is the one that 'completes me' and often times when he does so we are laughing so heard that EVERYTHING hurts! We've experienced bad times, hard times and sometimes we were so broke we couldn't pay attention. I love him with all my heart and soul and the greatest gift he gave me were our kids. There has never been a time that I doubted his goodness even when he says the cure for everything is to shoot it, fire it or level it with an atomic bomb.
I believe that saying I love you is, perhaps, the greatest thing you can tell someone. It has great meaning and invokes such wonder when you say it when you are 14 or 24, but you really know love as you get older. That bond of what you have experienced through decades together exposes the ups and downs of a relationship. It strips people down to their inner core and when you say "I Love You" after 31 years, it means so much more than just the mere promise of love. It means, I'm going to be there when we are broke, have medical emergencies, when our kids have trouble or if we wind up living in our car (well, we have a Suburban so we'd have a bit more room...haha)
The greatest gift that Dave and I share are our children. We take great pride in them. We have invested time, energy and even money to ensure that they were given the tools to be successful. They are all good human beings, with kindness, manners, work ethics and wonderful humor. My hopes for them are simple; faith, hope and love. Sunday dinners will hopefully provide an environment for you to come together as a family and be able to break bread together. The Sunday table is, after all, our family altar. I pray that the example I've given with the estrangement of my own siblings will make you try harder with yours. There will come a time in your life when you have no one else who knows your stories, besides your siblings, and a few friends and distant relatives and of course, your partner.
Dave, I thank you for your love and partnership. We've experienced tough times along the way, and always landed with our feet on the ground. We will emerge from this current recession/depression and we'll be okay as long as we have each other and our kids. We may be eating hamburger for Sunday dinner and drinking KoolAide from wine glasses, but at least we'll all be together. Our experience tells us that you can't have good without the bad. With struggle comes perfection, just like the moth becomes a butterfly.
Happy birthday, I love you!
I turned 50 this year and I've witnessed the Towers crumble, snow in Petaluma, war in the middle East, the election of Obama and I've done it all with Dave by my side. He's the first person I think about when I witness someone being an ass hole, admire the silhouette of the Sonoma Mountains or see a beautiful sunset. He's my best friend, my partner and often times my caretaker. My life would be significantly different had I not had his humor, brevity or loyalty. He is the one that 'completes me' and often times when he does so we are laughing so heard that EVERYTHING hurts! We've experienced bad times, hard times and sometimes we were so broke we couldn't pay attention. I love him with all my heart and soul and the greatest gift he gave me were our kids. There has never been a time that I doubted his goodness even when he says the cure for everything is to shoot it, fire it or level it with an atomic bomb.
I believe that saying I love you is, perhaps, the greatest thing you can tell someone. It has great meaning and invokes such wonder when you say it when you are 14 or 24, but you really know love as you get older. That bond of what you have experienced through decades together exposes the ups and downs of a relationship. It strips people down to their inner core and when you say "I Love You" after 31 years, it means so much more than just the mere promise of love. It means, I'm going to be there when we are broke, have medical emergencies, when our kids have trouble or if we wind up living in our car (well, we have a Suburban so we'd have a bit more room...haha)
The greatest gift that Dave and I share are our children. We take great pride in them. We have invested time, energy and even money to ensure that they were given the tools to be successful. They are all good human beings, with kindness, manners, work ethics and wonderful humor. My hopes for them are simple; faith, hope and love. Sunday dinners will hopefully provide an environment for you to come together as a family and be able to break bread together. The Sunday table is, after all, our family altar. I pray that the example I've given with the estrangement of my own siblings will make you try harder with yours. There will come a time in your life when you have no one else who knows your stories, besides your siblings, and a few friends and distant relatives and of course, your partner.
Dave, I thank you for your love and partnership. We've experienced tough times along the way, and always landed with our feet on the ground. We will emerge from this current recession/depression and we'll be okay as long as we have each other and our kids. We may be eating hamburger for Sunday dinner and drinking KoolAide from wine glasses, but at least we'll all be together. Our experience tells us that you can't have good without the bad. With struggle comes perfection, just like the moth becomes a butterfly.
Happy birthday, I love you!
No comments:
Post a Comment