Friday, December 18, 2009

Our kind-of-anniversary

What were you doing precisely 42 years ago tonight? Well, nothing in the case of my bloggy friends who hadn't got around to being born yet; and I doubt if many of the rest of you can remember.

I was at a dance. It was my sixth year (ie final year at school) dinner dance - the one and only social occasion organised by the school. I went to an all-girls' establishment so of course we had to invite boys as our partners to this dance. It was the greatest topic of conversation for months among all the girls: whom we'd ask, what we'd wear, what table we'd sit at for dinner and with whom.

Fashion was much more standard then. We almost all bought long, Empire line sleeveless dresses and low heeled shoes, usually silver or gold. Considering that we had to wear uniform to school, it seems strange now that most of us wore such similar styles to the dance; but we were fairly conformist young ladies. My dress was turquoise and my shoes silver with rosettes on the front.

I asked a young man whom I'd had my eye on for more than a year. At nineteen, he was a couple of years older than me. He was tall, quiet and good-looking, with beautiful thick black shiny hair. I knew him through the church; he was one of the young group who met at church activities and also did some things together in the evenings: played rounders in the local park and so on. I was kind of on the fringes of this group, being slightly younger than most of them, going to a different school and being very shy. However, I had to ask someone to this dance and so, too shy ask him directly, I wrote him a letter. And he accepted.

Had I known that, one evening 42 years later, he'd be sitting at his desk alongside mine in our study, I would have been extremely surprised. Yes, it was young Mr Life himself. He then asked me to his work dance a couple of weeks later; and we've been together ever since.

It astonishes me that this was 42 years ago. 42!

I'd also have been surprised to know that I'd be sitting here sadly missing three young people (though they'd have seemed pretty ancient to me at the time) - a thirty-year-old, a twenty-eight-year-old and a twenty-five-year old whom I'd never (at the time of the dance) met or even really imagined meeting. One of them, Daughter 1, is with her husband about a couple of miles from where I lived then; the two others are currently in Glasgow where Daughter 2 is visiting Son for the night.

I wouldn't have been so surprised to know that we now have cats. It's a chilly night. You can tell from Cassie's body language, can't you?

Well, well. All very astonishing. But it's worked out surprisingly well. I clearly had good taste when I was seventeen.

I love you, Mr Life.

28 comments:

  1. That's a great love story.

    Congratulations.

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  2. I think that is such a lovely story, and admire how you still adore each other afetr 42 years.
    I love the image in my mind of you in your turquoise dress. How pretty you must have looked!

    Meanwhile on the other side of the world, a very tiny blond person was oblivious to all this, indeed, of the existence of most things, but in the world nonetheless.

    Happy Anniversary dear Isabelle.

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  3. Lovely story. I was also 17 when I met my husband at a party. What I didn't know was he was..15. Scandal. That was almost 28 years ago now. Must be something about going to an all girls' school!!

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  4. Such a great story.

    Happy kind-of-anniversary!

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  5. Oh that's such a sweet story. I wish I could see a photo of you in your beautiful turquoise dress and silver slippers and Mr.L with his thick black hair. Happy Anniversary!

    (p.s. I wasn't even though of yet)

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  6. sigh ... i've always been enamored of a good love story

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  7. Oh, what a wonderful love story. Give him an extra kiss tonight.
    Congratulations.

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  8. How romantic and beautiful to have met Mr Life and to have lived happily ever after. My eyes got all misty. Sigh!

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  9. Ain't love grand?

    I was five, so I was no doubt trying to be very good so Santa would come.

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  10. What a lovely story and great how the love is there after that amount of time.

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  11. Like Fifi, I was a tiny blonde three year old on the other side of the world, oblivious to the existence of most things except my gingham bag of Matchbox cars.

    That was a lovely story. Happy anniversary to you and Mr Life.

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  12. Lovely story - thanks for sharing - and having met you both it's so nice to imagine you as teenagers. Congratulations to you both for your good taste! Zxx

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  13. Happy first-meeting anniversary. I was married with two children by then so I imagine I was very caught up in Christmas stuff.

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  14. Hurray - three cheers for everlasting love!

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  15. How wonderful. We were married 42 years ago, and two daughters and two grandchildren later still together. Whenever I think we have been married for 42 years it seems quite surreal. Where did those years go??!! All the best x

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  16. Awww. What a beautiful story (and beautiful tree -- is that in your house?) Isn't it amazing to think how our lives have evolved and how different they probably are from what we would have imagined? I used to try to imagine what my children would be like -- having not had brothers, I think I was probably only imagining girls -- pretty funny considering. And like you, it seems just impossible that they're now gone!

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  17. Sweet story, Isabelle. Since I was born 42 years ago, I suspect I was bawling my lungs out somewhere on the night in question, when the magic was happening!

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  18. Hi Isabelle. Loved hearing of your meeting!

    Actually I can remember that night! Truly I can. It was a Tuesday in the last week of school for that year.
    You see I was still teaching as the holidays were not starting till the end of Thursday ( in those years )and I was VERY BUSY! I was you see getting married on Saturday 23rd December 1967.
    Looking back I was one organised person to work right till the end of year with just one free day to prepare to get married. ( the why then etc is a bit of a long story so will not bore you with it )
    So yes, this year I have been married for 42 years! OMG.

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  19. I know exactly what I was doing 42 years ago. I was being one year old.

    Great love story! Nothing better than a happy ending, is there?

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  20. Happy Anniversary to you and Mr Life. Here's to another 42 years of happy togetherness!

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  21. Dearest Lifes.
    Happy 42 years.

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  22. A wonderful love story! Thank you for sharing! Happy Anniversary! :) Merry Christmas and Many hugs for the new year/decade! :)

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  23. Awww, that is a beautiful story - congratulations to both of you! I know what I was up to 42 years ago, at the age of 19. But it was with Mr Wrong, not Mr Right, and I won't be writing about it here or on my blog. NOT a beautiful story - LOL!

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  24. A very sweet memory :) Thanks for sharing it so beautifully. 42 years goes by relatively fast, doesn't it? We've spent 38 happy years together. Life is good!
    Wishing you and your family a wonderful Christmas, Isabelle, and an abundantly blessed New Year.
    Pats and kisses for the kitties too :)
    xox

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  25. I wish you 25 more, at least, happy years with your lovely young man, Isabelle!

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  26. What a lovely slice of life. Thank you for sharing it.

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  27. happy belated anniversary.... I love the story.. brings a little catch to one's throat... and a slight dampening of the eyes....at the very least....

    congratulations to you both... I hope you have many more...

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