Monday, June 24, 2024

Happy Wedding Anniversary Steven

Me and Steven on our
wedding day
(I had dark hair--yes)

It is our wedding anniversary today, and we've had a great day.
When we went to pick up wraps at our favourite take our café
for lunch, they wished us Happy Anniversary and offered us free
 desserts, and anything else we might like.  Awesome. 
Because it is our anniversary I thought I'd quote a former blog.

"So I'm thinking about joy today because it's my wedding
anniversary. And I think the lesson that my contemporaries
have to learn -- not an easy one -- is to choose joy over
sorrow, or discontentment, or negativity in general.
We were raised in an era that frowned on excesses,
especially childhood ones, so we were taught not to be
overly -- loud, funny, silly -- fill in the blanks. If we
didn't finish our supper we were told to "eat it because
children in (name the country) were starving." We were
weaned and raised on a level of guilt about our every
desire that seems hard to imagine now.

But even when Sam and Christopher were very little boys, four or
five, I was frequently informed by their teachers that they were
 "silly." I used to walk 
home from these meetings both feeling
sad, and thinking, 'good -- I've 
done something right.' So celebrating
in some ways 
goes against the grain -- requiring excess, gifts, joy,
laughter, a bit of abandon. Maybe that's why before COVID I always
enjoyed parties, and being with friends. Deep down
I was probably rebelling against the strictures of our
childhood life. So maybe a restrictive childhood is
not a bad thing. It's placed a large bell in my head
that I hear every day demanding "Fun! Fun! Fun!

In our current times, this means carrying on despite grief,
worry, and horror at what's happening in the world.

I am happy that it's my anniversary -- and have only
the sweetest of memories of my life with Steven today.
We have been blessed with choosing joy most of the
time.

Have a joyous-celebratory day."

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Portrait Artist

My photo
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
I paint and draw on commission and for shows. To commission a portrait, or purchase one of my paintings please contact me at: barbara.muir@sympatico.ca
A major highlight in my career? Drawing Oprah Winfrey live via Skype for her show "Where in the Skype are you? Galleries: Studio Vogue Gallery, Toronto, Canada. The Amsterdam Whitney Gallery, New York City. Gallery at the Porch Door, Kingston, Canada. Your positive comments on this blog mean the world to me. I'd love to hear from you!