THROUGH ALL OUR SEASONS

 



“Hey, it’s good to be back home again

Sometimes, this old farm feels like a long-lost friend

Yes, and hey, it’s good to be back home again.”

From the country song ‘Be Back Home; by John Denver


 

This is the month of December. Personally, this is my favourite month… The weather is very pleasant, with its cool breeze playing over our shoulders… It’s very inspiring, inviting… romantic.

No wonder, why so many young couples line up to tie their wedding knots during this month. And, because most of the weddings take place in this month, the wedding anniversaries, too, fall in this month. In our family and friend-circle, there are so many wedding anniversaries – most of them fall either a few days before Christmas or a few days after… And what about fresh weddings?

Maanvi (my dear ex-student) and her sweetheart Varun, came down from London to get married, early this December.

Benson (my wife’s nephew) and his sweetheart Shivangi, tied their wedding knot yesterday.

Dylan (my nephew) and his sweetheart Elita, will do theirs on December 22.

Last evening, as I was enjoying the grand open-air wedding celebration of Benson, this question popped up in my mind: “Why do young couples prefer December to tie their wedding knots? Is it because of the beautiful weather, or is it because of the uplifting Christmas/New-year season?

I remembered my own wedding… It was May 11, a hot summer-day, in our hometown, Mangalore. I, also, remembered my younger brother Rony’s…  It was mid-July… right in the midst of heavy rains.

Then, I wondered: “Does a December or May or July wedding really make any difference in the quality of one’s married life?”





The ones who get married in December – in a very inviting and romantic atmosphere – are they spared from the scorching heat of May or the torrential rain of July-August?

We all have to live through every season God gives us… It takes more than a ‘pleasant season’ to make our weddings as ‘pleasant marriages’.

We need to ‘work it out’ through all our seasons – peasant and unpleasant…  Yes, this is what most of us, who have come this long, can say… looking back.

Weddings and anniversaries will, always, remain as just ‘dates’ to celebrate… While, marriages will quietly keep all of us at work – 24 hours by 365 days… Yes, till ‘death do us part’…

The thought is very, very humbling, and real…





May God guard the newly-wed and keep them guarded through every season of their lives, year after year. And, God – I am sure – will never ask any couple this question: “Sweethearts, in which month did you get married?”

 

GERALD D’CUNHA

 

Pic’s: 1. ikra Yldiz  2. Sandra Ramirez-Luna

 

Video: John Denver

 

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