Tuesday, September 09, 2008

A Wedding Anniversary


The same week as my friends were wed in the Loire Valley, my parents celebrated their 31rst wedding anniversary.
Above is a picture of my mum dating from about the time when she met my father.
Here's the story of how they met... A Frenchman was working in Bogota, the capital of Colombia, after spending some 15 years working in Africa. A young American woman, who had been living in Uruguay where her parents were from, had had to leave Uruguay when the military dictatorship there closed down the universities and proceeded to assassinate prominent professors; she was working as a clinical psychologist in Bogota, and was all set to leave for Illinois shortly, to begin her PhD in psychology. She spoke impeccable French - her third language.
Their unlikely paths crossed at the Bogota airport.
They have been together ever since, moving to Paris where I was born, and then living in Iran, Kenya, Iraq, China and France...

34 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks for sharing this!!!!
Your life is very interesting to me, and I visit your mother blog sometimes,and of course I was intrigued about you two.
Your mother was and is very beautiful and she seems to be a wonderful woman.

sealaura said...

wow, what a great story. It is great to see people honoring their vows even through the ups and downs. very inspiring,

Josephine said...

congrats to your parents! what a cool story. how fitting that they met at an airport since their lives have taken them to so many countries.

My Castle in Spain said...

Such a beautiful story and moving too. It is so rare nowadays to meet couples staying happily together for so many years.
Félicitations to your parents !
(and yes, what a beauty...)

ps: i wonder what is your mother's blog

mansuetude said...

Your mother looks both beautiful and intelligent, deep. Blessings to all of you--their anniversary is also yours, union of their seed that you are. In blood and mind.

Mary-Laure said...

KARINA - yes, my mum is wonderful and extraordinary. I adore her.

SEALAURA - I agree with you. It's great to see that marriage can work.

JOSEPHINE - wow, that had never occurred to me, you're so right! I'll make sure to mention your smart remark to my parents.

MY CASTLE - my mum blogs about super yummy food and the "art of living" at:
http://aworldinapan.blogspot.com/
Check it out!

MANSUETUDE - thanks for your sweet and kind wishes, I'll share them with my parents!

Webradio said...

Bonsoir !

Je découvre Ton blog...
Il me plait bien. Je comprends l'anglais, alors je reviendrai Te rendre visite...

Carletta said...

What a beautiful love story!

Thank you for visiting my blog today and leaving such a nice comment.

Mrs.French said...

so romantic...like a movie. Your mother was and probably is stunning.

Fifi Flowers said...

Great story! I already congratulated your mother.

Nature Graffiti said...

what a lovely story! :)

d. moll, l.ac. said...

Very romantic, they were meant to meet. Thanks for hopping over to my blog and your compliments for Sticky Buns. Feel free to participate if you like. I can Email you rabbit pix if you don't know any =: }, rabbits that is.

Rina said...

M. Laure this is a beautiful story, and I loved it. Your mother is a very interesting person, like you of course, your experiences are fascinating!

Hila said...

how romantic and lovely. Your mother looks like a very beautiful woman. I'll have to tell you the story of my parents sometime ...

Claire, said...

How sweet, I loved your story!

Laura Neulat said...

THank you

Hey Harriet said...

A wonderful story & congrats to your parents. I'm glad I discovered your blog! I'll certainly be back to visit :)

Esti said...

How romantic!

Unknown said...

Es muy raro como a partir de pocos datos uno puede imaginar a una persona,y yo creo que a partir de tu blog y el suyo le saque la ficha, jaja.
Ella es la blogger mas cool de todas, no tiene nada impostado, es la esencia del cool.
Puede uno enamorarse de una familia entera?

Anonymous said...

oh my gosh, your mother is gorgeous! oh and what an amazzzzzzzing story....so romantic (and really could be turned into a film!) ;)
nancy

SandraRee said...

Your mom is absolutely beautiful! Much like you I suspect. :)

María Paula Dufour said...

Qué hermosa historia!
What a lovely story!

Thanks for share it!
Gracias por compartirla!

MP

Miss Cavendish said...

A lovely, romantic story! Bonne anniversaire . . .

Mary-Laure said...

HILA - I would really love to hear your parents' story... Please...?

HEY HARRIET - welcome, I hope you'll be back soon!

KARINA - la verdad que todos mis amigos adoran a mi mama; es la persona mas extraordinaria que conozca... Tenemos que vernos las tres en Buenos Aires un dia, para tomar un cortado y charlar...

NANCY - I think both my parents' lives could be movies (my Dad lived through the independence of some African countries and was a small-town French kid who found bliss in Africa)...
They're both straight out of novels, really larger than life!

MelancholySmile said...

My goodness, it all sounds so exotic and romantic. Like something out of a film. :) At times, I wish my family and I could spend more time living in various countries. What must it have been like to grow up in Kenya?

Unknown said...

Cuando vienen????

Anonymous said...

que rico que hables asi de tu madre y de tu padre.

Mary-Laure said...

MELANCHOLYSMILE - yes, their lives read like a novel or a movie...
Growing up in Kenya was bliss, and it gave me great respect for Africa, its people and its natural treasures. You can read my posts about Kenya at:
http://mary-laure.blogspot.com/search/label/Kenya

KARINA - no se cuando, pero ahora que tengo los amigos de quien te hable por email, sera aun mas facil ir...

Jill said...

how romantic! i've always been curious about your family's history, since it sounds fascinating from your stories. your mom is lovely. thanks for sharing!

tangobaby said...

Of course your parents have the most incredible circumstances to meet...and look at the beautiful girl they made.

Just hearing a little bit about their marriage seems to explain so much about you. I wish them many more years of love and togetherness.

Jennifer Bowen said...

What a beautiful story! Thanks for sharing. I also wanted to tell you I appreciate your comment on my blog. I've never had anybody from France comment before...I was so ecstatic!

BTW, you look like your mom...that means you're as gorgeous as she is!

Take care! :)

JuliaB said...

How romantic!!! I love stories like this. Lovely pics too x

A Spoonful Of Sugar said...

What an amazing story - your childhood must have been amazing living in all those fascinating places !

diana murphy said...

Wonderful story. You live the richest of lives.