48 Hours of Anniversary

This year my husband, Earnest and I are entering 13 years of marriage and boy did we celebrate! Yeah baby, my honey took me out for a night on the town - literally! We actually spent the night on Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena awaiting the 120th Tournament of Roses Parade.

We arrived on Colorado at noon on the 31st of January (our Christian wedding date) to stake our claim for a prime spot for the parade. This is a huge event that draws millions of people and every inch of space is literally fought for. Thus the need for law enforement who patrol the area. And their presence is felt and heard all night long! (I can actually imitate the sound of a police siren. Earnest gets a big kick out of this. It's a gift.)

We got there so early that we were interviewed on three television stations. It was our suitcases and all our gear that caught their attention. The television crew found it amusing that we came ALL THE WAY from Burbank with so much stuff! (Burbank is less than ten minutes from Pasadena.)

A side note: The parade does not actually begin until 8:00 am January 1st (our Buddhist wedding date).

From noon to midnight everyone is allowed to put all their belongings on the sidewalk. At midnight (officially New Year's Day), everyone races to put their folded chairs on the street just behind a marked line. But, it is on the 'street'.

So, as one can imagine, it is very hard to sleep. A: It's cold. B: It can be dangerous. C: It's too darn cold (oh, I said that already huh?) and D: It's too noisy to get any rest. Earnest and I slept a total of two hours each - if that much.

Somehow sitting in the cold, I just kept thinking about how I had to go to work right after the parade and Earnest would be going home, kicking back, and watching the USC game on television and that made me mad. I didn't hesitate to let him know that either. So much for my Buddhist practice in that moment. Where was my compassion? (I was hogging it all up on me!)

We were very fortuate to get a great spot right in front of Starbucks, because after midnight, from 1:00 a.m. until 5:00 a.m. (which is the longest part of the night), the hot chocolate sure came in handy!

This is an annual family event for the Harris household and as we sat there in our folded chairs, wrapped in our blankets (shivering), my son commented, "So Mom, you and Dad actually have a 48 hour anniversary".

I had never really thought of it like that! I had always focused on the fact that in order to honor both of our religious beliefs, we held two weddings on two separate days.

So being the woman that I am and looking for another reason to throw a party, I have decided to milk the 48 hour anniversary celebrations and bump it up. The other day I mentioned to Earnest that I would like to renew our vows in both traditions (Christian and Buddhist). He said he would 'think' about it. I'm thinking January 2, 2010 and extending the anniversary to 72 hours! I might even talk him into breaking it up into two days again for both ceremonies (Jan. 2nd and 3rd) and going for 96 hours!!

BUT, I will not choose to 'go out' all 96 hours!

Around 4:00 in the morning as we sat in the cold (freezing our nalgas off), we looked over at our children sleeping (through all the noise) on the air mattress snug and warm and it occurred to us, "We must be idiots! We are choosing to be homeless on a night that is considered the most unsafe of the year, while all our worldly possessions are at home nice and toasty!", "On top of that, we are trying to sleep inches away from the street where people are driving up and down the boulevard, probably drunker than two-day-old skunks!"

We couldn't help but laugh. It was at this point that I decided I would be so kind as to share my gift of making siren sounds. We laughed our (very cold) butts off!

And yet as the morning rolled in and the parade began, we looked at each other and knew without saying a word - it is so worth it and we'll do it again next year!

We really are match made in heaven and truly do deserve each other!