Ode to My Husband on the Second Day of July

For catching my eye across the room, and coming over to admire the artwork  on the walls of a common friend’s house;

For introducing me to the songs of Cat Stevens, Leonard Cohen, Gordon Lightfoot, and Supertramp;

For loaning me your copy of Owen Meany and The Road Less Traveled;

For showing me your recipe for egg-fried rice;

For taking me to all your favorite haunts for Kathi Rolls, Fried Fish, Tandoori Chicken, and the best Udipi in town;

For giving me more advice than I’d ever expected (or needed) – on people and places in the big city;

For offering me a helping hand and a kind ear always;

For casually strumming your guitar and singing ‘Bobby McGee’ for me;

For inviting me to the many house-parties at your many friends’ houses;

For sharing your love of the theatre, sports, and fitness;

For pressing upon me your trusty old Ambassador car – so I could have an easy ride in to work;

For embracing my family as your own;

For asking me if I truly had any faith in a May-December union;

For leaving your well-established life to follow me to another land;

For being an able provider and protector at all times – even when I thought I didn’t need it;

For your quirky sense of humor, and for teaching me to be light-hearted;

For your generosity to friends and strangers, and your kindness to all;

For being an amazingly loving and competent father to my two children;

For forgiving my impatience and petulance – among a thousand other shortcomings;

For loving me, encouraging me, and believing in me – even when I didn’t in myself;

For being a handyman extraordinaire, and for building everything I could ever conceive of;

For traveling the world with me, and indulging my every interest;

For making every friend of mine your own; and for letting every friend of yours become a friend of mine;

For sharing my love of God, and accompanying me to church and small-groups over the years;

For being a caring person who is sweet and sensitive;

For all these reasons and many more unspoken ones, I raise a glass to you, Sweet Husband;

Here’s a Twenty-One Gun salute to you, on this our Twenty-First Anniversary!

 Note on picture below:  Dug up from the annals of history in commemoration of the second day of July.  Circa early 1993 in New Delhi, India, a self-portrait.  Later that summer, we were sharing the same last name.