Last night I admit to having bit of a melt down. I've been chatting with a great guy on Facebook that has also recently lost his wife and he posted a comment about the number of years that they had been together, and he started counting those years from the moment they first kissed.
What a great way to answer the question "How long have you been together?" - it's not measured by years of marriage but by the years that a couple's hearts have been entwined, and that entwining begins when they first kiss.
I can remember that moment so clearly, we were at a Christmas disco, everyone knew we fancied each other (now there is a term that you can only use if you're 16! - Who says 'fancied' any more ) and there was a little too much cider flowing - someone was walking around with a big bunch of mistletoe and they held it over me and Claire... I don't think we needed much encouragement!
That was the moment, that was the moment that our hearts entwined and we never let go.
But when was that moment?
I knew it was around Christmas but I couldn't remember exactly when, and then I remembered seeing the date written in Claire's little diary, but where was that diary?
And so the meltdown last night commenced. Hunting high and low, searching through old paperwork, files in my office and boxes which are still unpacked from when we moved.
I eventually found that diary in the end, hidden in a drawer in the bedside table underneath Claire's pyjamas which are still there. And there in Claire's own handwriting is the reminder of that date.
She had an uncanny ability to remember dates like that, she wouldn't have had to look for a diary to know... But I'm so glad she took the time to note it down, that day our hearts entwined is there in black and white and now it's etched into my mind too - 7th December 1985.
"Thank you Claire for writing it down, I think a little part of you knew that someday I would need that diary and your note... and that day was yesterday, 28 years and 4 days after you wrote it. "