26 Years Together
March 11, 1996 was Moomba Monday. I had already met Georgie a few months earlier at a Polo match in Portsea but I obviously wasn’t looking for romance on that day. My friend Brenda had organized a dinner with herself, Georgie and me on Sunday 10/3. I drove my van down to StKilda, parked in a side street, buried my van key under a tree and went for a run. When I got back I couldn’t find the key so I had to dig around the tree until it finally appeared. I hopped in the back of the van and got changed for dinner. I’m pretty certain that we met at Brenda’s flat in Middle Park and walked up Canterbury Rd to the restaurant. I remember walking backwards so I could talk and walk at the same time.
After dinner we went back to Brenda’s flat again and after a bit of chatting Georgie announced that she was leaving. That could have been it. What happened next changed the direction of my life and hers. Brenda spat out “Did you ask her on a date?” No! She then ordered me to dash down the stairs before Georgie could escape. I muttered that I couldn’t just appear out of nowhere and proclaim my intentions, I threw myself on the ground and spun around like Curly from the 3 Stooges, I don’t really know why I did this but it somehow flooded me with a strange confidence that propelled me to bound down the stairs and across the road where I found her sitting in her car about to drive off. I knocked on the window and asked a rather naive and dumb question “Do you have to be at work early tomorrow?” To cut to the chase what happened next was that we ended up walking along Beaconsfield Parade way down to the Princess of Tasmania dock. One of those awkward moments for both of us, sort of like doing a first job interview and trying really hard to make a good impression.
I’m not certain whether I asked her on a date that night or the next day. I think it may have been the next day if my memory serves me well and knowing myself as I do.
We ended up sitting on the banks of the Yarra River watching the Moomba Parade float by. A simple first date but one that ended up in a life together. I was 44 and she was 33 in March 1996.
Fast forward 9496 days later. 227,880 hours to be precise and we are still together. I love her. We drive each other crazy at times but for some reason we never get bored with each other. Never tire of each other. We never run out of words to say to each other, we never talk about “nothing”. We spend almost every moment of our lives together. How lucky am I. We are both still open to adventure and unpredictability. We’ve been through a lot together – good and bad. She has tolerated my moments of weakness, my complications, she never stopped loving me through thick and thin.
And here we are 26 years later. Still in love. My best friend and companion. I look forward to spending the rest of my life with this woman. Loving each other, exploring new ideas, finding new adventures, growing as people, understanding the wonder of life a little bit more.
Aren’t I a lucky guy.
