It will be our 38th wedding anniversary on October 10th. I celebrate these ‘big’ important dates. I see them coming and they are times of happy reflection for me. I don’t allow them to be sad days.

The picture of Crystle that I have hanging in my home was taken at a Niagara restaurant when we were celebrating our 35th anniversary. It struck me this year that I will never be able to update that picture.

It seems like an obvious thing, doesn’t it? I mean, Crystle passed away eighteen months ago. How would I ever think I could get an updated picture of my beloved wife? I have no profound answer to my dilemma other than to say I have come to the stark realization that for me, Crystle is frozen in time. Whenever I think of her, that picture of our anniversary in 2016 comes to mind. Or at least, an image of the way she appeared in that photo always come to mind.

So I stopped myself. I began to remember her wearing different pieces of clothing. I spent time reflecting on the times I had been with her when she made those purchases. I remembered her changing her hair style, and sometimes her hair colour. I changed the wallpaper on my phone to a picture of Crystle wearing a pink dress she wore to Megan and Steve’s engagement party.

I don’t know why I did this but it seems to be a journey that I needed to take. Then I realized that Crystle is so much more than her physical body. I continue to hear stories about Crystle and the beautiful person she was, in the way she treated people. So I am content to remember Crystle, as the beautiful 58-year old woman she was when she left us.

Happy Anniversary Crystle.