Three Anniversaries
March 11th, 2009
On March 11, 2006, my friends and family gathered at an isolated lodge in the woods at a local state park. I wore a white dress that made me feel like a Roman goddess. The band played Love Me Tender as Eric and I stood in front of the same preacher who officiated my parents’ wedding over twenty years earlier. On this day, three years ago, I was getting married.
Pocahontas State Park – March 11, 2006
On March 11, 2007, Eric and I had been living in our new condo for six months. We had been sleeping on futons on the floor in our sparsely decorated bedroom. We shopped for a proper bed and left the store with an assortment of new furniture that we didn’t know we needed. Eric loaded our purchases into the back of our Subaru. On this day, two years ago, I was shifting new furniture around.
Our Bedroom – March 11, 2007
On March 11, 2008, a three-hour journey from Osaka delivered us to a small town at the top of a wooded mountain. I drank hot coffee in a can purchased from a vending machine at the train station. After leaving our backpacks in the temple where we’d be spending the night, we walked through a Buddhist graveyard in the darkness. On this day, one year ago, I was in Japan.
Koya, Japan – March 11, 2008
On March 11, 2009, I listened to my favorite Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds album as I drove home from treating myself to a hair cut at an Aveda salon. I made sushi with shrimp and imitation crab meat for dinner, then Eric and I watched season one of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and fell asleep early under a quilt on our sofa. Today, on an otherwise unremarkable day, I took a pregnancy test. It was positive.
Homemade Sushi – March 11, 2009
