… and yes, I will admit, this one is giving me pause.  Because 26 years ago today, Dennis and I got married on the Matthew McKinley in Sacramento, CA.

Oh, HOW I MISS HIM.

But I truly am the most blessed person with the loving support of my family and friends.  THANK YOU to everyone who has contacted me to prop me up.  It means the world.

I don’t know why flying seems the perfect time to post to this blog.  I guess it’s because I’ve spent SO MANY hours on an airplane with Dennis it makes me a little melancholy.  Of course I haven’t spent ANYWHERE near as many hours flying as Dennis did.   One of my fondest memories is when he was in Europe working (again) and I was home.  We met in Hawaii by him flying east around the globe, and I flew west to meet him.  What a wonderful memory, and an experience that I would have NEVER believed would happen to me.

It’s probably a good thing, but in our early years together, he was gone more than he was home.  Imagine …. Dennis was almost 36 and I was 34 when we met in 1988.  I’m so grateful that fate changed my career plans and I ended up working at his company, OIS, for 4 years.  It was the company that provided the glue that held our love together, and on hindsight, it taught me deeper independence.  I’m very grateful for that now.

But I do MISS HIM SO!

I’m on my way to Charleston, South Carolina, to visit Dennis’ sister, Lynda and Pete, for her 65th birthday.  Lynda and I are exactly 4 months apart!  Dennis and I never made it out their way so it is important to me to honor Lynda in this way.  I chose this date to also honor Dennis and our wedding anniversary.  The first one without him.

But there are signs EVERYWHERE that All Is Well. At 3:45am, the song “Going to the Chapel” was already playing as I got on the airport shuttle parking van. And of course I saw 3:33 as I was driving to the airport. I’m anticipating more signs as the day continues.

Today is the last milestone I need to get through before the one year anniversary of his passing on October 5th. And I will “joyfully accept” this day and continue to move forward.

Thank you for supporting me and believing in my ability to continue on as a single Freebird. I KNOW Dennis is just fine and I know he also wants all of us who love and miss him to be happy and continue to enjoy being alive. So Dennis, to honor your sense of humor, I’m happy to share our crazy engagement photo (thank you, Frank McGann, for this and ALL of these wedding photos). Yes, Dennis proposed marriage to me, on our boat, exactly one year after we met. Proof that I’m not the only anal-retentive one in our relationship!

I LOVE YOU, DENNIS.