Silver Wedding Anniversary

Twenty five years is a long time. Not as long as it feels since it was March, but a long time. Mrs Dim and I were different people in many ways, and we’ve changed each other as much as we’ve changed ourselves along the way. Both of us seem fairly content with the result.

We celebrated the day of our anniversary with a family meal, carefully booked at a restaurant that had space to distance and was looking after its staff. Our first plan of a dream holiday in Hawaii had been scuppered a couple of months before (though we were lucky enough to be reimbursed for the cancelled flights). Instead, we booked a more modest weekend away in Naramata, at the Naramata Inn. Mrs Dim is big seafood fan, as well as appreciating good wine. I appreciate her, so we would both have enjoyed the trip.

Except THAT had to be cancelled too – new restrictions cancelled travel outside the Fraser Valley Health area, and we were spending the week at home, with all three kids.

We’re luckier than a lot of folks – our house is a reasonable size, even with five adults in it. We have a garden, and the trails on Burnaby Mountain right on our doorstep. Mrs Dim and I divided our time between working on the garden and house and getting out into the fresh air. We revisited some favourite places, and took advantage of the fact that we didn’t have to get up and go to work. It was a lovely week. On the Friday, I booked us a meal at the Port Moody Boathouse, which also does some lovely seafood.

I enjoyed my week at home, but I’m sorry that we didn’t get to mark such a milestone with more of a landmark celebration. It’s no one’s fault, in a manner of speaking – if more people observed the rules about masks and social distancing, the latest set of restrictions might not have come in, for example.

All things being equal, I’d like another twenty five years, please. But whatever is round the corner, each day has been a gift that I didn’t expect and will work to be worthy of.