Wedding Anniversary

Well, I'm three days early on this but my poor husband is going to be alone on our 27th anniversary and I wanted to get this posted anyway. On July 13th we are celebrating our 27th wedding anniversary but I will be in the States, and he will be here in Japan. This happens almost every year so I guess we didn't plan well when we set the wedding date (which by the way we chose because his summer bonus came in so it was the only way we could afford a wedding!)

I wrote a couple of months ago about how Tetsu and I met and first communicated. We dated about 2 and a half years before we got married. Many of the people around us probably didn't think this was such a good idea. Tetsu wasn't interested in learning English and although my Japanese had improved it was far from perfect. Interestingly our families gave us their blessings. My family figured when I went to Japan at age 22 that it was likely I'd marry a Japanese, and Tetsu's mother, though surprised that he'd found a foreigner in the out-of-the-way city where we met, made me feel welcome. So we planned our wedding.

Tetsu himself wanted to wear kimono for the wedding but I was not about to get dressed up in the traditional garb with the heavy white make-up and wig. I wanted to wear a wedding gown. Ok. How about half and half? We agreed that we'd do it both ways.

First the wedding dress. Normally Japanese brides will rent their wedding finery, both dress and kimono but I wanted mine to be my very own so I decided to sew it myself. My mother sent me wedding dress patterns and lace samples and with the help of friends I sewed the dress. Ok. No problem there.

For the kimono though I was at a loss. Then a ladies' English class I was teaching came together and offered to plan my Japanese wedding outfit. One lady brought the kimono she had worn to her wedding. It had been hand painted by her father-in-law, a famous artist. Another lady brought an obi (the wide belt). One lady supplied the embroidered collar, another the footwear. And finally, one lady who had studied kimono offered to dress me on the big day.

So here you have it, Tetsu and me nearly 30 years ago. I keep the pictures displayed on a dresser but Tetsu says we ought to put them away, we look nothing like we did then!

I think, even though Tetsu and I have battled with a language barrier, that we communicate better than many Japanese couples. As he gets older he is more free with kisses and hand holding and I tease him and make him laugh. We are not gushy nor romantic and probably could use a little spice in our marriage but I see us growing old together sedately and happily. We take time out to tell each other about our day and consult each other about problems and decisions. I trust him with everything and he tells me that I'm the only place he feels comfortable.

Happy Anniversary to us!