Melanie asked me to write a few words about our family's celebration of her and Steve's wedding anniversary last night- our antidote to sadness. I thought about trying to be poetic about it, but the truth of the matter is, we ate a picnic dinner in a deep, dark storm drain between Highway 280 and the Wal-Mart in Sylacauga. That needs no poetry, I think.
We chose Sylacauga because it's halfway between Birmingham, where we were, and Auburn, where Anna Claire and Madeleine were for Anna Claire's play that afternoon. We chose a picnic because Sylacauga doesn't offer much fine dining, and we chose a storm drain because we met in the Wal-Mart parking lot and the drain offered plenty of space and shelter from the cold wind. I came from Athens that afternoon and met Melanie, Mary, and the boys at Whole Foods, where they were choosing cheeses, crackers, chocolates, and all the sorts of things that are necessary for a picnic. We headed on to our location, where the boys went exploring and discussed the zombie apocalypse, the girls caught up on the latest Auburn stories, and Melanie laid out the feast and lit candles. One of those candles hadn't been lit since the wedding last year, and was meant to be lit only once a year, at this anniversary.
We came together around this makeshift table, and passed around bread and cider and all the other foods (I'm still not sure of everything that was there, because it was so dark), and when we were drawing to a close, Melanie gave each of us a little box with a ring. We talked about how we loved being all together, and then someone spotted something on the horizon. It looked like fire, glowing red and growing rapidly, but in fact was the moon, rising as fast as it could through the clouds to hang overhead and watch us. My dad loved the moon- he used to walk and talk to it at night- and so I suppose it remembered, and wanted to check on us on this bittersweet day.
Melanie asked if we wanted to try to talk about Steve, or the loss of him, but none of us felt ready for that. I am slow with words, and I know it will be a long time for me. But I think for everyone, the moon, and the food, and the storm drain, and the togetherness were enough for a while.
-Marge