Some of my best memories happened on Fourth of July. Of course, there are the traditional outings, the oooohs and aaaaahs of childhood wonder as we sat on top of Dad's Chevy coupe on the hillside to watch the fireworks at Liberty Park. And I spent a very different yet equally entertaining Fourth with the townsfolk of Tuscarora, NV. Then there was that time an old boyfriend and I watched fireworks competing with a thunderstorm across Salt Lake Valley from my Victorian walkup in the Avenues. We made some fireworks of our own, as I recall.
Jeff and I went on our first date on the Fourth of July, marrying exactly one year later. We celebrated our independence from loneliness along with several other bridal couples that day.
One good reason for getting married on July 4th, beside the fact that the whole country celebrates with you, is that it’s really easy for a husband to remember that tricky anniversary date. Jeff has never disappointed. One of my favorite anniversaries was in 2007. He reserved a cabin at Sorenson's Resort in Hope Valley for the weekend. We had the whole place to ourselves until the Fourth itself. Then all these tacky people showed up. The noise was horrific.
But I digress.
While living in Truckee, we’d usually have a fabulous meal at Restaurante Orozko in John Ascuaga’s Nugget in Sparks, NV, then watch the fireworks from their parking tower. We even met Mr. Ascuaga and his family there one time. Lots of fun, but when that restaurant closed after the sale of the hotel, we decided to stay home and enjoy spotting wildlife from our patio at the Hobbit House.
A year later, I wondered what in the world I could give my Beloved that would at least measure up to his gifts to me. Then I read a letter in Dear Abby that blew me away. The writer told how his family wrote about their relationship with him on little pieces of paper. These were rolled up and put in a box -- 365 in all -- so he could read one every day. He said some of them brought back wonderful memories, others surprised him, while others revealed how his family felt about him, and how he had influenced their lives. It was the most meaningful gift he’d ever received.
That was it! I was so excited I dived into it right away. For the next week or two, I wrote all the good memories I could think of that happened between us. Our travels. Fun times with family and friends. Special moments traveling throughout the West. How we had worked together on projects around the house. How he had been such a positive influence on my life. I was able to come up with over eighty little rolls of paper listing things that we did together.
I repurposed a little treasure chest that had once been a cheese gift box, and filled it with these little rolls of paper. I couldn’t close the chest, so I presented it to him open.
As he read each one, he laughed or sighed. He would pause and look at me, recalling each event. Then he said, “This is the best gift I’ve ever gotten because it shows success.”
We've enjoyed forty-two years of love, successfully working together, staying together through bouts of illness, months of unemployment, upturns and downturns, times of loneliness when jobs separated us. The chest is still there, on the shelf in his office, where he can remember that we’ve had a good ride.
Of course, this little exercise in positivity turned my head around, too. I was getting fnooky and grumpy about growing old and seeing the light within both of us dim at times. Then I sat at my computer and pulled all these memories out of my crusty old brain. It was better than Luvox, my friends.
So, this was the best Fourth of July I have ever had in my life. And I have Dear Abby and four decades with a good man to thank for it.
photo by Sue Cauhape
If you enjoyed this post, feel free to explore more poems, essays, and stories in the Ring Around the Basin Archine. I also love to read your comments, so please share your thoughts. Let’s start a conversation.
"Ghost in The Forest" is a great read! Take note People. If you love stories about environmentalism and nature, its clash with urban mindsets, as well as personal transformation, this is the book for you!
Oh, Sue, such a beautiful, beautiful post! Happy anniversary - sorry I'm late in saying this!
What an absolutely gorgeous gift.
What’sLuvox? [lol]
Nice story!!