My father had only barely managed to convince my mother to retire to SV in the first place. Once they did, she never looked back and they spent 15 years there, becoming part of the fabric of the community. He then, only barely convinced here it was time to move into Hope to be closer to medical facilities. Mother would have nothing of it. She said he could move down if he liked but she was staying. Rumour was, only slightly tongue in cheek, they were getting divorced (!).
Now living in Hope, where my father built his final home, mother busied herself with fundraising for the Heart and Stroke foundation, The Red Cross and welcoming newcomers with Welcome Wagon. They chose to celebrate their 50th anniversary at the Inn at Sunshine Valley, and all of Sunshine Valley was there to celebrate with them. Milestones like these are rare and deserve to be shared.
When my father proposed to my mother she felt compelled to refuse him, in order to give herself time to grow and develop personally. She returned his ring, and left for studies in L.A. and they lived apart for a year, never speaking to each other for that time. After this time, she called his sister and enquired about my father. His sister said “he’s here, would you like to speak to him,” and the rest is history.
If you love someone set them free, if they return, they were yours, but if they don’t, they never were. - Khalil Gibran.
Therein, the commitment was renewed and restored stronger than it ever might have been. Thereafter, and to this day, now 60 years later, they share an abiding love that defies the ages and probabilities.
Love one another, but make not a bond of love; Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls…Stand together yet not too near together; For the pillars of the temple stand apart, And the Oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow - Gibran
They are fortunate, now in their later years, to have the bonds of not only each other, but moreover the bonds of the community of Sunshine Valley, which remains inseparable; grateful are they for the innumerable individuals who have come into their lives.
As with marriage, perhaps with endearing friendships: "And in the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed." - Gibran
A bottle of vintage Pol Roger from me went down well between them on that day.
