#159. or, Fireflies (for my wife)

   I've seen pictures, from other parts of the world, where the fireflies dance in the trees like a million stars in the skies. That doesn't really happen here. In fact, I'd bet, that there's a fair percentage of the population in our neck of the woods, that aren't even aware that we have fireflies. But we do. I've seen them.

  I've lived in pretty much the exact same spot for the entirety of my life, certainly for the part that I can readily recall to memory. For most of that time, I had never seen an actual firefly. The first time that I ever saw one, was 19 years ago, this past week.

  That's important, because today is the anniversary of the day that my wife and I were married, 19 years ago.

  I don't recall all of the details of that day the same way that my sweet wife does. I remember being a wee bit stressed. I remember the outdoor ceremony we had, and the bee that kept buzzing around us and wondering if my wife, who wasn't quite my wife just then, was going to bolt, from her terrible fear of bees. I remember drinking a bit and being awesome at the hula hoop game that our DJ sprang on us at some point during the evening. And now that I think about it, I probably recreated some of those awesome hula hoop moves, later that night, after my wife and I stole away for the balance of the night that we had to ourselves. But that's not really where I intended for this story to steer itself.

  What I was trying to get at, was that my wife did the greatest majority of the planning and putting into action of our day, 19 years ago. I was younger and a working fool, and when I look back on it now, I wish that I had taken the time to help her out with all that she had on her plate. Because over the last 19 years, the things that I remember most, are the things we've done together, as the partners that we were meant to be.

  But I have this memory, of a time, the week before this day, 19 years ago. When I'd come home from seeding or working with cattle, and my wife was exhausted from the stress of planning a wedding that was just days away. I remember that her and I went for a walk outside one of those evenings, and for the very first time in my life, while we walked in the dark holding hands, I saw fireflies. Not so many that they  lit up the forest, but a handful, dancing here and there, maybe at most three at a time, but still random enough that it surprised you when you would catch another set dancing in a different part of the woods. It was magical.

  So, every year now, when our anniversary rolls around I try to watch for them. They're not always there. In fact, they're rarely there. But a couple days ago, I came home from seeding, and as I walked up to the house as the night fell, I spotted them dancing in the trees behind our house.

  I've seen nights, when I'm in a field away from any outside lights, and the stars fill the sky so thickly you'd think you could reach up and stir them with your fingers. I've been on a plane in the middle of the night, and looked down to the Earth out of the window and seen lights of houses and towns twinkling like stars, and you would swear that you were looking up instead of down. But my favorite is without a doubt, sitting on the steps of our deck with my wife beside me, like we did a few days ago, watching a hand full of fireflies dance in the trees like stars.

  Because I know, the dance they do is for us.

  ................Happy anniversary baby.


This week I'm linking my post with the Yeah Write Weekend  Moonshine grid, as well as the Mod Mom Beyond IndieDom Blog hop. Follow the links to catch up on a bunch of other fine peoples blog posts!  :)