That, my friends, is Italian for 30 years ago - and here we are today celebrating in Arachova on Mont Parnassus in Greece. Who would have thought that one drink would have lead to all this. The past 30 years have been many things but the one thing they have never been is dull.When I met Laurent in November of 1978 he was in his last year at University and our first trip together was to celebrate his graduation - London in 1979. We saw the sights, went to the theatre and, with our dear friend Ryan, went to the opera at Glyndebourne in tuxedoed splendor. Little did I know that was just the start of our wanderings around the world.
When Laurent joined the foreign service in 1983 we knew that it would mean living apart but we decided that because I worked for an airline we could handle it. And handle it we did for almost half of those 30 - I've always wondered out loud if maybe that's why its lasted that long. First it was Mexico City, then Cairo, next came Chicago followed by Amman, Warsaw, Beijing and now Rome. There were periods back home in Ottawa every couple of years and then it would be back to commuting.
It hasn't always been easy for either one of us. Many times birthdays and anniversaries have been celebrated apart - though never Christmas; sometimes we were not there to support each other in times of family deaths or times of illness; back before computers communication could often be difficult because of cost and time zones; and each time we started living together again there were periods of adjustment - which became harder as we both grew older. And there were times when we both wondered how it was all going to turn out. But it looks like it has and we'll keep each other for another year.
At diner tonight - being Greece there will be roast lamb I would think - we'll raise a glass to the past thirty years to all the places we've been, people we've come to know and love, things we've gone through and hope we're granted a few more years of the same.
Happy Anniversary P. from P.
23 novembre - San Colombano
