Marriage Is What Brings Us Together Today - 24 January 2022 - Plague Journal Day 683

Micah 6:8
John 2:1-11
Yes, your life matters.

Some of you are still sheltering in place, but fear not: I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?


On 24 January 1776 the German author E.T. A. Hoffmann was born. His writings were the source of the only opera I have seen more than once (in person) - Offenbach's "Les Contes d'Hoffmann" (the Tales of Hoffmann) - which I've seen twice.

The second time I was surprised/delighted at how much Heidi remembered of the first production we had seen. Her reminding me of that time made the second performance even more enjoyable.
Ah, but that first time.
This was our first date, and we had only fairly recently become engaged. Good times.
Oh, that sounds odd to you? Well perhaps it was.
As the Metropolitan Opera's tours tend to sell out quickly, I had to ask Heidi if she would go with me well in advance of the performance. She agreed - our first actual date.
Ah, but in the intervening weeks we spent lots of time together and I (in my own particular way) asked her to marry me and she said yes. Please note that I didn't even know Jarrod, let alone go there, this was an old-fashioned engagement in some ways.
At any rate, there we were already engaged to be married, but going on our first date. These are the kinds of stories I need to actually write down so Christian knows about us when we don't remember or when we're not there to tell him.

Keep Calm and Don't Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our insane lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.