Oh, come off it you guys! You didn't really think I would tell you I have been sober for 24 years. Hardly.
But I have been married to the same wonderful (most of the time) guy for 24 years. Today is our anniversary. We had such a funky marriage. We decided to get married when we were still living in Brooklyn so first had to go get some kind of blood test. We had no insurance, so went to the cheapest guy we could find. His office was dark and dirty and I think the syringes he used had been used before - plus there was a language barrier so I don't know what he said to us. But he did do the paperwork, and two weeks later we could marry.
That was another issue - we had no money and both had to show up at work every day. So we went to Chinatown (NYC) and bought a couple of wedding rings for $300 off a guy on the street corner - more language barriers. But they haven't turned green yet, so I guess they actually have gold in them.
Then we had to go to the Brooklyn Courthouse to actually make this marriage legal.. That was a real trip. We arrived early in the morning since we both had to take the subway off to our jobs. We were sitting there waiting when the JOP or whatever said we needed a witness. We had no witness, but there was one other couple sitting there waiting to marry. They were from Jamaica and spoke very little English. Thankfully, my husband and I were pretty good with the French language, and asked them to be our witnesses. They agreed. So we walked into this room and the guy read off the marriage vows so fast that I could swear he did a FedEx commercial in his free time. Our two lovely companions (witnesses) didn't understand a word he said - neither did we - but we all smiled and kissed and hugged and signed the papers. A quick smack on the lips and we were both on our way to work for the day.
I am writing this not to bore you too much, but to say two things.
1. The best presents in life don't have to be gift wrapped with lots of bows and stringy pretty things. sometimes they can come in plain brown paper. Even wrapped in the funny papers - that's good also.
2. I just want to thank my husband for all the sh** he has put up with me over the years. I know my drinking has been a cross for him to bear, but he has done it with such unselfish understanding.
Let us honor our loved ones - our spouses and children. And let us all pledge never to hurt them anymore. We do this for ourselves, but we do it for them also.
But I have been married to the same wonderful (most of the time) guy for 24 years. Today is our anniversary. We had such a funky marriage. We decided to get married when we were still living in Brooklyn so first had to go get some kind of blood test. We had no insurance, so went to the cheapest guy we could find. His office was dark and dirty and I think the syringes he used had been used before - plus there was a language barrier so I don't know what he said to us. But he did do the paperwork, and two weeks later we could marry.
That was another issue - we had no money and both had to show up at work every day. So we went to Chinatown (NYC) and bought a couple of wedding rings for $300 off a guy on the street corner - more language barriers. But they haven't turned green yet, so I guess they actually have gold in them.
Then we had to go to the Brooklyn Courthouse to actually make this marriage legal.. That was a real trip. We arrived early in the morning since we both had to take the subway off to our jobs. We were sitting there waiting when the JOP or whatever said we needed a witness. We had no witness, but there was one other couple sitting there waiting to marry. They were from Jamaica and spoke very little English. Thankfully, my husband and I were pretty good with the French language, and asked them to be our witnesses. They agreed. So we walked into this room and the guy read off the marriage vows so fast that I could swear he did a FedEx commercial in his free time. Our two lovely companions (witnesses) didn't understand a word he said - neither did we - but we all smiled and kissed and hugged and signed the papers. A quick smack on the lips and we were both on our way to work for the day.
I am writing this not to bore you too much, but to say two things.
1. The best presents in life don't have to be gift wrapped with lots of bows and stringy pretty things. sometimes they can come in plain brown paper. Even wrapped in the funny papers - that's good also.
2. I just want to thank my husband for all the sh** he has put up with me over the years. I know my drinking has been a cross for him to bear, but he has done it with such unselfish understanding.
Let us honor our loved ones - our spouses and children. And let us all pledge never to hurt them anymore. We do this for ourselves, but we do it for them also.
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