I DO!

There may be one or two more chapter/episode from the "Life's a Dance" writing that I been posting here. Most of you that have been following it already know that this was not written recently but almost five years ago. However most of what you've been reading is pretty much a transparent representation of what our current state of mind and level of life was. Our last big fight or disagreement happened around the year 2000 but once we re-committed to each other we spent all of our time and energy concentrating on having a good life as a couple and trust me what glorious last ten years we had. We learned more, loved more, and lived more than we had in the past.

So here's the next piece of the story, this one although brief it touches on what was a huge highlight in our lives.

I DO!

And so in an intimate family gathering held at my mom’s house surrounded by our son and his wife, our two daughters and their husbands, and our five grandchildren Sylvia and I said, “I do” all over again. Seems it was only yesterday when we said those two little words and yet a quarter of a century has passed.

God has given us so much that I am ashamed we have abandoned him so much. The ceremony performed by Father Helios was an eye opener, his words though beautiful said a truth we did not want to hear but that needed to be reminded, it was a good time to reflect on our past and to see if we need to make any adjustments or changes as we head to our future. Father Helios was able to remember Sylvia’s mom and my dad and made us feel as they were there with us blessing our renewed commitment to keep going on.

I certainly was a blessing to have my mom and Sylvia’s dad present, Don Sixto looked just as good as he did 25 years ago when he walked Sylvia down the aisle except this time around he just walked her out the living room to the patio where the mass was celebrated.

Anybody that knows Father Helios will know that he is a very good priest that puts so much attention to detail, from his singing to his melodic sermons where he makes us repeat his sentences over and over again. The mass was about 40 minutes long but thanks to him it felt, as it was shorter.

A touching moment that will last in my mind forever is when he called our kids and told them to kneel in front of us so that they could receive our blessing. Both Sylvia and I took turns blessing each one of them, naturally some tears were shed but you can rest assured that they were tears of happiness.

What followed was also a beautiful moment as my niece Marya sang her rendition of “The Ave Maria” as we received communion. More than one pair of eyes showed that sparkle that only comes when a tear makes its presence known. Sylvia’s and mine were just inundated with tears so if we looked like we sparkled now you know why.

Thanks to all of our family members and friends that joined us in such a joyous occasion, your presence meant the world to us, and to the ones that could not attend know that we still had you in our hearts thus making us feel as if you were there celebrating with us.

So as Sylvia and I head towards our future we invite you to keep being such a crucial and important part in our lives. With your help another 25 years should be a breeze.

So, we had found the formula we needed to make that possible. Given the chance, the next 25 years would have been a breeze. We were making sure of that on a daily basis. But when orders from higher authorities manifest themselves before us, we must submit and accept. For those of us left behind until our time comes family, family unity, and family values continue to be our set goal to pursue and strive for.

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