Our Anniversary:

February 16, 2023

Happy Anniversary, Annette!!!

Today we would have celebrated 42 years since we met and fell in love. Since that day, our lives and love continued to intertwine, the bond growing stronger and deeper as the years and decades went by. But sadly, death is part of the human experience, and today is also the six-month anniversary of your passing...

I remember well that weekend we first met so many years ago. A couple of your sisters along with others who would become lifelong friends were in a rock-climbing class I taught the prior year at the University of Minnesota. That winter, for President’s Day weekend, I invited them to ski-backpack to an old cabin I had visited once before on the Minnesota/Canadian border. Your sister Lorri, Paul M and Paul N said heck yes! You were going through a challenging time in your life, and Lorri encouraged you to come along and spend some fun time outdoors. To this day, for all the wonderful things Lorri has done for us, bringing us together was by far and away the best of all.

It was my idea to drive the six hours up to the trailhead after work on Friday and ski the seven miles to the cabin by the light of a full moon. We started skiing at 11 PM. The first hour was bright, beautiful, and magical. But that ended when the moon set—not something I’d even considered. So, epic beauty became just plain epic. Those last five miles had us skiing in pitch black on an untracked and hilly trail with full packs, to a cabin only I had been to just once during the summertime. You and I were ahead of the others, and this was how we first got to know each other. We fell so many times that night, leaving giant craters in the snow all along the trail. As we laid on our backs listening to that hushed and penetrating silence you only get on a frigid, winter night deep in a snow-covered forest, we would share what we loved about the outdoors, and then break out laughing at my stunningly bad though noble idea and threaten to just go to sleep where we lay. But on we went skiing, falling and talking; arriving exhausted at the cabin just as the sun was beginning to rise. Quite the (in)auspicious start to what would become a lifetime of incredible adventures in so many amazing places. In just a few days, we went from falling in deep snow, to falling deeply in love, an immersive experience in every way. We would celebrate this anniversary by skiing to the cabin for each of the next ten years, and afterward wherever we were for a total of 41 of these.

There are few events that I can truly say changed my life, Annette. But the two most significant ones were that weekend so long ago when you came into my life, and six months ago when you left it. I miss you so much. This journey I’m now on has many similarities to our ski into the Grand Portage cabin that night. It's both luminous and dark, untracked, the route not entirely clear, with many falls along the way. There is a deep and timeless silence, and I am still discovering just how much I love you.

We always talked about the grand slide show we’d have when we turned 80. I hope to still do that, with you in my heart watching with me. For this Anniversary, I put a much shorter slide show together as a small sample of the amazing places you’ve been, with your beautiful smile lighting up the world. That smile is in every forest, ocean, desert, and mountain I see, Annette. As you reminded us all, this is where your spirit was born, and where it will always live. This will always be my touchstone to you.

Love always my dear best friend,

Your husband and soulmate, David

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To our friends, I hope you take a moment (4.5 minutes) to watch the slide show. Horizontal works best and turn on sound.