Happy both days to you

He is 72. We have been together for 17 years. Today marks the day for both -- the birthday, the anniversary. Today is also the last day we have, to be in each others company. For a while anyway.

In thinking about all this, I was tempted to plan nothing special at all. Indeed, in glancing back at the last handful of years, I see that it became almost routine to do nothing much. We seem to have always gone for a walk in our local park (something that we do maybe 200 days out of the year). And oftentimes on October 20th we'll make a point of eating take-out, to free me from planning and preparing a dinner. And that's it!

So maybe this year we can just say happy birthday, happy anniversary and return to our regularly scheduled programing?

No, this year, Ed nudges us into something else. Let's do some trail clearing. And then grab a lunch. And maybe take-out for dinner? And pick up some chocolates at Candinas and maybe I'll make flan for dessert. I've been looking at recipes...

That's a lot of initiative and ideas from someone who doesn't really plan out our days! Any one of these things might be found in our possible repertoire, but doing all, in one day, on his suggestion? Incredible.

The fact is, we are getting older and we find time to be precious. We are way more thoughtful toward the other than we were 17 years ago. We pay attention to feelings and sensitivities in new ways. Ed knows that I wont let October 20th slip by without some expression of gratitude for all that we now share. 

We make it special.

(the sheepshead, where he lived before I agreed to move to the farmhouse; these days it's mostly home to the cats)

(our cheepers)

Breakfast, with a time-release selfie. 17 years of breakfasts. And dinners. And all those hours in-between.

And now we join up with the guy at Brooklyn Wildlife Area who does much of the trail maintenance and prairie restoration in and around that particular segment of the Ice Age Trail. He's doing a fire break so that the DNR can burn the adjacent prairie. This means saplings and dead branches must be removed from a swath of land. We help in this. 

From there, it is but a short drive to the chocolate shop. We wont be sharing the chocolates until he and I are both back from our travels, but still, picking up chocolates here is quite the intimate act for us! Our box will be waiting for us.

Now onto Paul's Cafe for lunch. Oh, but it's been a long time!

As usual, he reads the paper, I read whatever I have on me. And in this too we find our intimacy. 

And now it's time for me to pick up Snowdrop.

Tired girl! We take it easy, concentrating on favorite books and lots of snacks.

Finally, much later, I pick up take-out Thai and Ed and I settle in for a meal on the couch. How I love these evenings where we eat, read, watch together, knowing that we come from such different starting points and yet, here we are -- completely at peace with the world we have created here at the farmette.

Happy Birthday, Ed. Happy Anniversary to us.

With so much love...