Happy 5th wedding Anniversary!

Five years ago today, Tom and I said "I do" at City Hall in Kitchener, in front of our eighteen guests.  My dad was there looking proud and my twin sister was there holding up the phone, so that mom could hear the service from Germany.  It was a nice sunny day, unlike today, where it is grey and raining.  It is hard to believe that now, we have a nearly five year old boy and a thirteen month old daughter and I feel overwhelmingly content with this family we have created together. 
We worked hard for it, admittedly so, we had a tough first year.  Four months after our wedding, I gave birth to Markus, the love of my life.  My mom lived in Germany and my Yoshe, my twin lived in Vancouver.  She had taken a year of absence from teaching to go with her husband to Vancouver for work.  I had a lot of conflict with Tom's parents and I felt all alone.  It was my first year not working.  Tom and I went to lots of counselling. I went to teachers college and struggled.  I got pregnant shortly afterwards.  My dad was hit by a van and in ICU, where he died, after we had moved to Milton to be closer to him and shortly after that, I gave birth to the most precious girl I had ever seen in my life.  This time, my mom and my sister and my husband were right by my side holding my hand.

Memories...Amidst this feeling of bliss and bewilderment that we have come so far, I know this week there has been a lot of tragedy and suffering in the world.  There were two bombs that went off at the Boston Marathon, shortly after 2pm.  I right away called a good friend that lives there, that I knew from high school.  She was covering it on the news.  She sounded just as shocked as I was, but I was glad to hear her voice and see that she was at work and that her husband and daughter were okay.  Three people lost their lives in the explosion, including an 8 yr old.  Many people lost limbs and their lives will be forever changed.  On the same day, there was also an explosion in Iraq and Syria, where many people lost their lives.  The next day, there was another explosion in Waco, Texas.  I have asked myself the question all week, why is there so much pain and suffering in the world?
I think that it could have been anyone and why would someone want to kill a mass of people? what kind of statement were these criminals trying to make?  Obama called it "an act of terrorism".  It makes me shutter with dread, I don't want to go to any large events anymore.  What should have been a glorious and triumphant time for the people at the marathon turned into a day of doom and gloom, caused by someone who is a stranger.  Someone who had no regard for human life and yet we are all the same.

Tonight, Tom and I and the kids will go out to dinner and just be thankful that we have each other and that we are still going strong together.  I love Tom more and more every day and in moments such as these tragedies, it brings a sense of community and shows our true nature of how human we can be, families pulled together, strangers rushed to help victims and the essence of our humaness was revealed. The only real message I have is: LOVE. Be thankful for everyone in your life, even those that drive you crazy, because those are the people that challenge you the most and shape your experiences and who you are.  I love my family, that is all.