Today is my anniversary.

23-years ago, I married Dwight Hooker.

That is a half-life ago.

Today, I celebrated.

First, with my dear friends, Melissa and Tara, I had brunch overlooking the Park City Golf Course in a development Dwight would find charming.

Melissa and Tara reminded me, “only do things that bring you joy.”

Then, I napped and watched Harry Potter. Dwight bought me all of the books, first editions. He was patient when I spent whole days sitting on our deck, looking out over Stewart Falls, and reading.

I had tea with Jodi and Vanessa.

And, I missed Dwight. Jodi texted, “Happy Anniversary.”

Dwight would have loved this neighborhood and these friends.

After tea, I made my bed with clean sheets. (Dwight used to lie in bed with Gorbachev, our Samoyed, in the mornings and say, “Look at his pretty brown eyes.”)

I cleaned out a few cupboards.

With care, I touched and re-stacked my Berndes pans. Dwight gave me the set when I turned twenty, almost four years before he married me.

For my 19th birthday, he gave me down pillows. Gus and Faith made confetti with one. The other sprung a leak, but I keep it in my linen closet.

While I organized cupboards, I listened to the musical, If/Then. Without Dwight, I would not know anything about musicals.

I remember sitting in the silver Subaru XT coupe driving to and from Sundance listening to The Phantom of the Opera, Cats (don’t judge us), and, our favorite, Aspects of Love.

Dwight would LOVE If/Then because it is about an almost 40-year-old and the different choices she could make. (More on that in another blog.)

I’ll leave this and fall asleep with Love While You Can. That’s who we are. We’re just Dwight and Julie. Still. 23-years later.

Love wherever and whenever you should . . .

Our love belongs to everyone who loves us,

So it’s not just you and me,

And we both know love doesn’t make us perfect,

It just makes us want to be.