March Forth Anniversary

It’s hard to believe that it was only three years ago that Multnomah County said ‘Yes’.

CrafterKat and I had just submitted our information to DHS in the hopes we would be considered the Forever Family for Critter. We played the Waiting Game with the Southern Oregon office and sat by the phone for news.

A day after Multnomah County’s announcement we called our adoption coordinator. “Do you think it will hurt our chances of getting Critter if we get married?” She gushed her congratulations and urged us to make it official.

Three years later I can still remember standing in line with other smiling couples, people passing out flowers and hot coffee to us as we stood in the drizzle, and the supportive honking of cars as people drove to work.

We tried our best to avoid the camera crews and newspaper reporters. Even so, one employee where I work thought she saw me on TV. We called the Golden Poet on our new cell phone while we waited. “Guess where we are right now?”

You could hear her grin over the phone. “Getting married?!”

Basic Rights Oregon flooded the lobby with volunteers who instructed out how to fill out the paperwork ("Choose now who will be the Groom and who will be the Bride") and had graciously bartered with the Keller Auditorium to host marriage ceremonies during the day. After two hours standing in line and a $50 fee later, we marched back to our car and drove over the river for a quick wedding. No friends, no family, no special vows. No headaches over the perfect flowers, the right music, or searching for the perfect dress. Just a simple, heart-felt ceremony.

Afterwards we were in a bit of a daze and slowly drove home. We stopped at the Chinese restaurant near the house and wolfed down hot and sour soup and lemon chicken, squeezing hands and repeating, “Did we really just do that?”

At home we discovered the Golden Poet had been busy. In the three hours we were gone she had decorated the living room and our bedroom with wedding banners, baked a heart-shaped wedding cake, and put a bottle of champagne in the fridge.

We called other family members and our friends at work, announcing that, really, we were in no condition to come to work on Friday… We spent the evening at McMenamins Kennedy School watching Peter Pan, and listening to the live music celebrating March Forth. The best part, we agreed, was that we did not have to pay for a band at the Reception…

It was a wonderfully spontaneous day and one I will treasure forever. The wedding gifts websites state that the traditional wedding gift for Year Three is leather. But I prefer the modern gift equivalent for this landmark anniversary: crystal.

Our lives seem to be more focused and clear as a family. We have good health, lots of love and laughter, the support of family and friends, and the addition of a beautiful daughter. What can be a better gift than that?