Arnie's spoon

Arnie has been married to my eldest daughter, Courtney, for 2 years this month though they lived together for 8 years or so previous to the wedding and dated for a year before that. They had the most fun wedding ever on an old ferry (The Skansonia, permanently docked in Seattle). Cove ceilings, pegged floors, wide staircases leading to the upper deck. The ceremony was held on the bow with a view of the city. It was a wonderful day, perfectly typical Seattle weather. The officiant read a poem that Arnie chose the refrain of which is "come be my love in the rain" and as it was read a tiny, gentle rainlette, mist really, began to fall and Arnie looked at me and smiled as we both caught the magic of words spoken being manifested to celebrate, to mark a synchronicity of two people joining. Courtney's dress is simply wonderful! I will blip a photo of their wedding so you can see and I can record it here. But what made the day spectacular for me was to see the joy passing between these two people, one of whom has been half my world since her birth. The looks exchanged between them throughout the day were unmistakeable. Love and a happiness that was secret between them, speaking to a bond shared, unreachable by family and friends. A oneness that filled me with joy, that assured me that her future was in the perfect set of hands: hers and his, so I could let go.

I love my son in law. He is the most fun person to shop for (if I don't count mom :) He is a gifted artist so it's great fun to shop for drawing pencils made from unusual materials, pastels in metallic colors, paper in odd shapes and sizes. His interests are eclectic and he has a deep sense of the absurd, a wonderful sense of humor. Last year I found a sterling spoon from 1898 that said "Merry Christmas from the State Insane Hospital" and had to snap it up, knew he'd appreciate the irony. The idea of anything "merry" coming from that place so oddly commemorated on this spoon with its intricately detailed etching of the enormous many winged hospital embellishing the bowl seemed disrespectful to the poor souls that had languished there and I still wonder as to the motivation behind this spoons creation. Who would have commissioned it and why? But the hospital was closed 80 years ago now so I like to believe the spoon is freed from it's legacy and has begun a life renewed.

Christmas morning the spoon was born again, Arnie loved it and both my father and brother coveted it. So this year I found this little stocking stuffer. Shhhh, don't tell him.

Good thing he knows I love him :) Not sure what my spoon fixation is stemming from :)