Friday the 29th was Black Friday in the US – a time of ultimate consumption. It’s about sales galore and businesses driving retail to kick off the Christmas shopping and push their profits as high as they can get them. People respond in a frenzied fashion. In contrast is thanksgiving the day before and yesterday marked the beginning of Advent. Advent is a time in the Christian calendar when we begin preparation for the gift of Jesus into the world in humble circumstances in Bethlehem.
I don’t normally give Black Friday a second thought as it’s not a thing in Aotearoa New Zealand, but I did this time because what I was doing couldn’t have contrasted more.
Selfie high on the Coromandel Peninsula with the sun setting
The 29th is the date of my wedding anniversary (anything but ‘black’) and since this was our 10th we decided to go away for the weekend together while someone else generously looked after our daughter.
Melva has a work colleague who has a batch in Matarangi so we were able to get away extremely cheaply. I took plenty of photos so will share some of them in another post. Matarangi is a fabulous place that I’ve never visited before and I’ve got to say it is one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve spent time at.
The lead in to the weekend was hectic as a stomach issue that I have flared up, landing me in the Auckland Emergency Ward on Thursday evening and on top of that our car had decided its transmission no longer wanted to work properly the day before. Melva was a legend organising around that, getting me (with the help of some great friends) to the hospital and back on Thursday and sorting out car things so we would be able to get away. The hospital got me sorted so I was in shape on Friday to head out. It all came together in the end. I offer my heartfelt thanks to the community around us that helped make our anniversary happen.
What I most appreciated about the weekend though, was that it reminded me that there is nobody on this planet that I’d rather spend time with than my wife. She is the love of my life – not an immature puppy love like in the movies, but a love that’s safer and more secure. It has longevity and doesn’t come and go on a whim.
We fit together so well. We spent most of our time playing a dice game, walking on the beach and relaxing. She’s my best friend. We didn’t need shops or high energy entertainment to distract us from the moments of silence and we didn’t need to work hard to wow each other. In fact, those moments of silence are the best – they’re the test. Those moments are the times that tell you if you’re ok with each other or not. They’re the measure of that ability to be in the same room with nothing else going on, not even words, and still enjoy that space. The whole thing was just comfortable and peaceful.
Like all relationships ours has its ups and downs but mostly we’re on a pretty even keel. The weekend affirmed that we’re well suited, we’re best friends and that we thoroughly like each others company. That’s not something to be taken for granted. May it be the same in another 10 years, 20 years, 30 years and beyond. That won’t happen by accident.
Black Friday image from an ABC News story by Alyssa Newcomb.