Something today reminded me of the time I decorated Art's tiny home for his 27th birthday.
I put streamers and balloons all over his place. I decorated everything!! (We had to remove balloons from the couch to take this photo.)
It was not till I had finished decorating that I felt embarrassed and worried I had gone overboard and tipped my hand for my affection for him.
When he came home, we had to remove all the streamers immediately! His 6'6" frame had to stoop under them just to enter the house. (I was still new to the rules of dating a tall guy. And there are some fundamental rules!)
The fact that I hadn't thought about his height when decorating only added to my embarrassment.
We had been dating for 5 months.
But in this photo, look how smug he looks! It's like he's saying, "Yup, she's mine!"
Seven months later, Art asked me to marry him.
I have been feeling annoyed this week. Thinking it had to do with the marking of the 14th year since he died.
But I realized today that I'm annoyed because that person in this photo isn't here to continue to be so damn smug. He was right. I was his.