Jacqueline and Joseph

    

     It’s almost anniversary time again. On May 21st, 2011, we’ll celebrate 28 years as married people. I am inspired to announce this after finding a photograph in a box in the basement earlier today. Yes, “the great 28”! Our anniversary may be just another day in most lives, but to us it is a miracle. Let me tell you the story of how we almost didn’t survive “the great 1”!

     In 1984, Jackie and I decided that Cape May, New Jersey, with its Victorian architecture, nautical splendor, and romantic atmosphere, was the perfect venue for a young childless couple to spend an occasion as significant as their first wedding anniversary. The thought of seeing the historical lighthouse, the specialty shops, the historical traditions of Sunset Beach…It promised to be a relaxing celebration of a momentous occasion.

     Now, this seemingly perfect vacation had commenced. A relaxing stroll on the small boardwalk was a perfect release of tension from the drive there. Soon, we were out to dinner at a wonderful seafood restaurant in the harbor.

     I think this is a good time to mention that I have several personality flaws. I hate to part with a buck unless I know exactly where it's going.....basically, I'm cheap.....uh.....frugal. To say I'm stubborn seems moot. We're all stubborn, aren't we? Apparently, God sent us to Cape May on our first anniversary to see how much our one year old marriage would withstand my thrifty and sometimes difficult nature.

     That restaurant was fabulous, and we got to enjoy some lobster tails and wine, and just celebrate us.  Then, IT happened.  Now, I’ve never been superstitious.  I never believed in anything I couldn’t see, hear, or feel, and I certainly didn’t believe that walking under a ladder or seeing a black cat was bad luck.  Most importantly, I certainly didn’t believe in Murphy’s Law, or that things happening in threes….until that night!

     Happening number one occurred at the end of dinner when I paid the bill and left the tip in cash.  All was fine until I realized that there were too few larger bills left in my wallet when we were walking out the door.  How could a cheapskate…uh…frugal person make such a blunder.  I wanted to go back and see the server again to get some of my money back, but Jackie wouldn’t let me.  She begged me to let it go.  I didn’t go back into the restaurant to get any money, but I did grumble under my breath and stomp toward the car…leading to happening number two.

     As if my behavior during happening number one wasn’t enough, the hole I dug for myself after happening number two was seemingly irreparable.  Upon reaching the car to drive back to the motel, we realized that the headlights were on and looking quite dim.  I had left them on the whole time we were in the restaurant.  Of course the car wouldn’t start, and we had to have it towed to a repair shop right near the harbor and the restaurant.  It was so close, yet so far.  What else could go wrong?

     Well, the first two happenings, the first two blunders led to happening number three.  Though this event in itself wasn’t a blunder, it would not have happened without the first two.  The final expense for the evening was the ride in the cab back to the hotel.  I could only imagine what the cost of the car repair in a resort town would be!  The events of the evening changed the tone of the trip for me, but even as I began to relax in the hotel, and wanted things to return to normal, my behavior and obsession with the money I had lost had taken its toll.  We went to bed disappointed that night, obviously not what we had anticipated.  I was now beginning to believe in Murphy’s Law and the threesome of things happening cliché.

     What a difference a good night’s sleep and a gorgeous day full of miraculous happenings make!  Miraculous happening number one was the perfect late spring day we were given with sunshine and breezes, suitable for walking the path that the cab had driven the night before.  It was amazing how therapeutic that walk was.  We talked honestly about the importance of the occasion, and the triviality of the money spent the night before, and the silliness of my behavior.  I knew we’d be better for having experienced all the events of the trip, I wished I didn’t have to learn the hard way to control myself.       

     The second miraculous happening came when we arrived at the station to pick up the car and the repair was only a pittance!  I was repentant, for sure, but the thing that clinched the whole state of mind for the trip was about to come!

     Jackie suggested that before we get in the car and drive back to the hotel, that we take a walk along the harbor, leading to miraculous happening number three.  She shrieked suddenly, “Joe….Look!” and started running toward the harbor and then IT came into view….a fishing boat with the name ‘Jacqueline and Joseph’ on it!  Now it wouldn’t be as surprising if the name ‘Jackie and Joe’ was on the boat.  It was stunning to us that those names were on that boat and spelled exactly as our own.

     As expected, the anniversary vacation became a rousing success, and more great meals were consumed, sights were seen and enjoyed, shops were visited, and the story of that whole trip, and especially the picture, is a family favorite!  My frugalness…uh…cheapness and stubbornness are definitely part of my personality, but never again did I get that upset over such trivia.

     I didn’t think much about Murphy’s Law after that, and realized that all triple happenings didn’t have to be bad.  I still think that there was a reason that boat with its appropriate name appeared when it did.  It was a sign and a gift.  I am glad for that anniversary excursion, with all its good and bad, and its significance as a new beginning for Jackie and me.