07/20/2023
Many years ago when I asked my father what he thought of my now husband Chris, he paused for a while (he was known for his dramatic pauses), and he looked up at me and said very matter-of-factly, “I can die now”.
My reaction was something like this: 😳 I remember looking at his face as he stared at the kitchen table preparing to finish his thought. I had so many swirling questions and emotions at that response of his, as he wasn’t even sick back then, and I didn’t understand what he was getting at.
He continued, “Chris loves you the way I loved your mother, the way your brother in law loves your sister. As your father it’s my job to make sure that when the day comes that I am gone, you will be okay. You’ve always been able to take care of yourself, but I’ve worried as to whether you would find someone to share your life with who is worthy of you and who will take care of you" … He then made a classic Joey face and chuckle, expressing in one quick swoop that he’d apparently been worried about that for a very, very long time given the many, many, many years I spent single and burying myself in work. His look conveyed all the doubt and worry he clearly struggled with about whether I would find my soulmate. My dad told me “Chris is what I have been waiting for for you all these years. So I can die now knowing you have found your love.”
A year ago today July 20, 2022 I said "I do" to my soulmate and best friend surrounded by our closest friends and family. Tricia our Office Manager at Valero Wellness and my dearest friend even stood by my side as one of my bridesmaids. Alex King our incredible nutritionist at Valero Wellness also came and carried up a photo in memory of our beloved Lindsay who worked at V apothecary who so wanted to come but sadly passed a few weeks before my father.
It was a beautiful ceremony and day. A much needed day of love and celebration amongst a brutal time of grief and mourning, trauma, tragedy and loss. We are grateful that as a newly married couple we can finally enjoy living life at a normal pace with less tragedy and loss and more room for love and good times 💕
