"The Best Gift"

I have mentioned before that Mikey and I met in college choir at the Univ.of Ill.- Chicago in 1964.  Our first evening together was on December 10, it wasn't really a date. Our first official date occurred a few days after that.  Nevertheless, December 10 is the anniversary of when we began this long journey we've been on.

The choir was incredibly good.  Both Mikey and I had sung in high school choirs and treasured the opportunity to sing under the direction of  Dr. Edwin Fissinger, a dear sweet man and musical genius, whom we all loved. He was "The Sir" to us all and singing with him was one of the best experiences of my life.  He was a hard taskmaster when it came to music and he got the best from all of us!  We sang beautiful music with complicated rhythms and intricate harmonies and unusual arrangements, some of which were written or arranged by The Sir.  Mikey and I had the good fortune to sing in  the choirs Dr. Fissinger directed --  both of us in the Concert Choir and the Chamber Choir, and I sang in the Madrigal group as well.

The choir presented a Christmas Concert that night at Elmhurst College (I think), which is about an hour's drive from the campus of of UICC.  Like most such events, (from grammar school field trips to college sports team games),  the choir traveled via bus between the two schools.

That night after the concert filled with wonderful Christmas music,  Mikey and I sat together on the bus ride back to our own campus.  How many romances, I wonder, have begun on long, bumpy, noisy rides on a school bus?   We talked and laughed and even had a couple of those heart-stopping moments when two people discover that they have found their special someone....by the end of the trip, I was in love!  And the rest, as they say, is history!  We have been together ever since!  This will be our 48th Christmas together!  (Good grief, Charley Brown!)

I don't know why it never occurred to me before now, but our whole history for nearly half a century, grew from its start in the Christmas Season.  Perhaps that is part of the reason we are both such Christmas junkies!  Christmas time is like an anniversary of sorts and we indulge in our mutual love of all things Christmas every year.

I was remembering that whole time just a day or two ago.  Remembering that discovery process and remembering how wonderful it all felt to have an honest-to-goodness boyfriend.  And not only a boyfriend, but I pretty quickly came to the realization that Mikey was my Mr. Right!

But the biggest revelation was one I don't recall ever being aware of before:   Mikey, my Big Guy, my Mr. Right, was "The Best Gift" I ever received on that or any other Christmas!  Without this man and the love that came into my life that night,  everything would be different.  Everything!   None of the best and most wonderful things that have brought me to today would have ever happened!    I, of course, have no way of knowing where I might have ended up without Mikey, but I do know this:  I never would have found anyone else who would have been such a perfect life partner.  We suit each other, we fit together, we've weathered a lot of change over the years, but that start in December of 1964 was just the way it was supposed to be....and I'm pretty sure that Mikey might just feel exactly the same about me!

And we came together at Christmas!  Oh yes, "The Best Gift": indeed!