The Pictures are in My Mind!

Yesterday marked our 40th wedding anniversary, a milestone that used to be far in the future but has now come and gone. I remember my parents' 40th which they celebrated by throwing a huge dancing party in the Community Centre. My thoughts at the time were that they were getting old and my own 40th just seemed impossibly far away. So now I'm there what have I learned?
1. Get out and embrace all the experiences life has to offer so that at the end, whenever it comes, there will be no regrets, only pride and pleasure in recalling wonderful memories.
2. Learn to love yourself and let those imperfections go. Life is too short to constantly be beating yourself up. (There are always enough people who'll do that for you!)
3. Find the things that make you happy and give yourself permission to do them.
4. Find a partner whom you love almost more than you love yourself and revel in that love.
5. Find a partner who loves you so much that he can't think of life without you. His joy is in watching you grow and be happy.
6. Every day, take stock of the many blessings in your life, no matter how sad you are about something currently pulling you down.
7. Life has many waves and when you are riding one, hang on and enjoy the ride. When you hit a valley, know that the crest of another wave is coming and do all you can to keep swimming.
8. Step back and watch the people you meet to find the secret key to their persons. There is a saying I have found to be very true. "I don't like that person. I have to get to know hin/her better."
9. Enjoy the simple things in life such as the freshness of the greens in spring, the peep, peep of new mourning doves nesting in the potting table honeysuckle vine, or the relief of cold, icy water sliding down a parched throat, and if possible share them with the love of your life.
10. Make a mental list of all your best memories. Mine includes a black night lying on cushions on our back deck, snuggly under blankets, watching a miraculous meteor shower with my hubby and our daughter. We shared the binoculars and the fun to make a memory that will star in my mind forever.
So what did we do on our 40th? We took a wonderful afternoon car journey to Niagara Falls where we went straight to the helicopter pad and waited our turn for a ride over the Falls area. It was fabulous! Hubby sat opposite me as we strapped in and put on the excellent ear protection--there would be no talking on this flight! There were six of us. First, a girl about ten and her mother who was wearing a leg brace--I thought how great it was that she had shorts on and was not self-conscious at all. Good for her! Second, a young couple who didn't make eye contact with white-haired people such as us, although we couldn't help noticing her tattoes across her lower back, her G-string panties showing above her jeans and her long, fake fingernails! And ourselves in our shorts, laughing, joking, happy to be there, and determined to make the most of the $200 it cost to take the 12-minute ride.
Of course the obligatory camera man was snapping pics as we boarded the plane and we knew we'd be herded by to view and buy at the end. In no time we were up, up, and away. My neck couldn't swivel fast or far enough to see all I wanted to. I didn't want to miss a moment. There were two huge reservoirs that I had no idea existed--ohhhhhh! There's the Niagara River. It looks so small. Where are the Falls? Turn around! Turn around! Oh, yes, the American Falls, the recorded voice in my ears said. What? They'll only be around for another 2000 years? Better see them now. And finally I see the Horseshoe Falls, Canada's pride, in all their glory. (I reach for hubby's hands and we smile our excitement.) They really look small from way up here. I am amazed. And the Niagara River before it divides and flows over both falls is a surprise. I see the white foam marking rocks that step down in layers before the water's final plunge over the falls. And there are two deep channels in the river, visible from the air but not on land. Oh, but the Falls! So awesome in the full sense of the word.
All too soon, the helicopter is landing on its pad and we're unloading. I move to the door and the attendant steps up to help me. I look at his hand, steady myself on the seat and hop down. I am not going to dim my elation by letting him make me feel helpless. I can do this and and I do!
Outside the small building we meet a man with his small daughter who is going in to take the ride. I approach and ask him to take our picture with the helicopter sign in the background. We need a little memento, we think.
We go for a lovely late lunch at the Whirlpool Golf Club Restaurant and sit enjoying our wonderful fruit plate and sandwich as we watch the golfers come up to the 18th green. We talk and I tear up thinking so many thoughts but mostly how incredibly lucky I am to have found this man on a blind date so many years ago.