Happy secret anniversary my love
Today is the 15th anniversary of a very special moment for Carolina and me that not many people know about. I told the boys the story in the car this morning - at least the parts I remember (Carolina was always there to fill the gaps in my fading memory). I also couldn't find the special song we listened to at that time - something she was always so good at remembering. It made me realise that I should at least try to document some of our special moments before they are lost, so here's a short summary of why today is so special:
By early 2008, Carolina and I knew beyond all doubt that we were committed to spending our lives together. We still lived a world apart, Carolina in the Netherlands, me in South Africa. We met only during the occasional travel to each other when we could afford it, and during international astronomy conferences that we happened to attend together (it helped being in the same line of work plus each of us were coordinating large global projects).
In April 2008, we were attending the first Middle East and Africa Regional meeting of the International Astronomical Union in Cairo, Egypt. Carolina had found a budget hotel far from the conference venue (but close to the pyramids). It was a convenient location because at the time no one knew we were a couple and we didn’t want to go public just yet for various reasons (mainly because I felt that our work was too important to risk negative judgement from anyone who may disapprove of a personal relationship developing "at the office" - a whole other topic of discussion). To most we were just work colleagues with really good chemistry. On 12th April 2008 we decided that our commitment to each other was so strong that we would get married (context: this was 18 months after we met, 2 years before Carolina moved to South Africa, and 3 years before our official wedding).
We improvised a small "wedding ceremony" out in the desert just a short walk from the famous Egyptian pyramids. It was just the two of us - no one else on the planet knew what we were up to, and certainly no one else understood the intensity of our love and commitment to each other. Our improvised ceremony involved some incense sticks, a watermelon, a toe ring, and our vows, which we wrote right there, as we sat on the sand together, and then buried in a small bottle.
Today, 15 years later, and every day in between, the words we wrote back then have always remained true. We never wavered. We never doubted. We never faltered. These are the words that we buried on that day, 15 years ago today, in the metaphorical sands of time...
12 April 2008
Cairo-Egypt
Today Kevin I give my life to you, to us, to the world in which this love was born and given to us to live, nurture and celebrate forever and I am infinitely grateful to seal
I love you
Today Carolina, I embark on a journey that will last the rest of our lives. I give myself to you, to us, to the world we share. Today we leave our separate lives behind and set off on a journey together. Everything that I am, all that I was, and all that I will be, it is all yours. I am yours.
I love you
forever + 2 days later
After we got back to the hotel we shared our story with some of the staff we had befriended there. The next day they surprised us with a cake and a small celebration! There was love and kindness everywhere. As it happened, the hotel we stayed in had hosted several weddings that week and we had witnessed some of those celebrations too. Love certainly doesn’t need an audience. But sharing our love is what we do as humans. And the world will likely be a little bit better if we kept on sharing love, kindness or even just stories thereof…
