ariadne
Diane prevailed upon me to update our home computer’s screen saver last night. Since time out of mind it had been a series of artistically-altered photographs of Tokyo and its environs. Last night I replaced them with photos of our family and extended family. A nice benefit was that it produced a photo selection session wherein Diane and I reminisced about all nine months since our wedding, and what they’ve contained. There are shots of our honeymoon, the creepy cabin we stayed in the first night, reading in the front grass with the friendly dogs at our feet and cooking in the kitchen. Her hair was much shorter then and her loveliness hasn’t faded one bit. We included pictures from the wedding itself, unabashedly happy ones of our respective parents and a little boy unaware of what was happening but just excited to be there. We looked through some older photos too. We found some of me in the cockpit last spring, flying my first solo cross-country, and ones of Luke’s younger days.
It reminded me today of a line from the OtR song “I Want You To Be My Love” (incidentally on our wedding soundtrack): “…and I want you / all you’ve been through.” It somehow succinctly articulates the all-encompassing desire for the being of another, past, present and future, with all the experiences that formed their character, whether or not you were a part of them. And set in a song that, once it starts, I just never want to end… It’s quite an effect. I have such an insatiable desire for anything to do with Diane and her past, artifacts, home movies, photographs, anything (to the point of annoyance on her part when I make her narrate her home movies). What little I understand of myself comes in large part from my past; I think I want the same from the one I am one with.
That’s one of my favorite songs.
I’m the same way. I like pictures and such, but it’s better with a story behind it to put it in context. That, and i’m so forgetful that i really do forget a lot of things that i’ve done or that have happened in my life. I guess i tend to live in the moment…much like dogs do. And even though i’d rather not compare myself to a dog, well…there you are. :)
John D
:) It’s fun to flip through old photos with someone. I can’t think of many things where it’s equally enjoyable to be on both sides of the event–describing the photos or having them described to me.