Photo Printer Paper

Day 347: Photo Printer Paper

I had identified this printer paper as the target for today's blog before I knew my father would be diagnosed with esophageal cancer. This object, with its cheesy photograph of a smiling bride and groom, had me thinking about weddings and funerals and the passage of time before I even got the news.

My thought was that no one would print out their wedding photos on a home Epson printer. That was before I remembered that our three wedding photos were taken by my brother with a cheap point-and-shoot camera. Rich and I were married in the basement of the temporary City Hall in San Francisco, with only my brother and my friend Tina as witnesses. The real City Hall, with its gorgeous gold dome and soaring ceilings, was closed for repairs. We weren't eloping, we just didn't want a lot of fuss.

The basement was typical. Fluorescent lights, acoustic ceiling tiles and green linoleum tile floors. There was a sign on the wall above the registry that said "No Refunds." My brother took a photo of us making silly faces under the sign; I got very tired of looking at that photo in the years after. In my hands, I'm holding a mixed bunch that Tina picked up at a street vendor on her way to the basement. I remember the oriental lily smelled quite overpowering.

My mother once told me that 15 years is a short time. I remember it distinctly. We were sitting in the car on Huron Parkway, stopped at a red light. I must have been in high school. I don't know what I said, but I'm very certain I rolled my eyes and gave the classic hair toss. I remember thinking, "I will NEVER believe that 15 years is a short time." Fifteen years, I thought, represented one-fifth of a lifetime. Fifteen years, I thought, represented my entire life.

I know a lot has happened between and for me and Rich over the past twenty years. I know that during some periods, time seemed to flow like crystallized honey. But from where I sit right now, twenty years seems like nothing. Just a little over twenty years separate me, my brother and sister from our parents. That, and a short cross-town trip.

I'm counting my blessings right now. And praying for another twenty years to spend with my beloved father.