Two become One...almost

Today is our 35th wedding anniversary and we spent some time on the weekend in the Niagara region together to celebrate. It seems like yesterday that I was 35 years old and today I am trying to account for the 20 years which have really passed by so quickly.

In the lovely historic town of Niagara on the Lake, a large fruit tree stands on the boulevard of King Street on the way down to the lake front. It was covered in pink and white blooms and the contrast was eyecatching.


Years ago someone grafted two trees together and while they now stand as one, the graft is still visible. Once the flowers are finished, a casual observer may not even notice that this tree is unusual.

Niagara on the Lake, Ontario

King and Queen Streets intersect in the centre of town where the Prince of Wales Hotel stands. The signs share one pole but I noticed that Queen Street was the main street. In our city, King Street is the main street one monarch is not really supreme over the other all the time.

Grandma was of staunch Empire Loyalist ancestory, people loyal to Britain who came to Upper Canada from America after the Revolutionary War. Every summer she would take my cousins and I to Queenston Heights for a picnic and we would later drive up to see the falls. A battle in the War of 1812 was fought here and General Brock was killed in the fight against the Americans. This three year war was fought during the time of the Napoleonic Wars in Europe and is largely forgotten as neither the Americans or the British colonies lost any territory. Canada was not even a nation at this time, but in Ontario, school children visit the old forts and battlefields and learn that we won this trade and boundary dispute.

Queenston Heights overlooking the Niagara River

This monument to Laura Secord stands near the large Brock Monument at Queenston Heights and overlooks the Niagara River as it divides Canada and United States. Laura Secord is a hero as she crossed the front to warn General Brock of the impending American attack. Since the end of this war, the Canada-USA border has been peaceful line for nearly 200 years.

Flowers of a different colour, king or queen, or a blue river as a defining line, we do not have to be the same to get along and work together as a unit. A good marriage takes effort, trust, commitment and respect for our unique traits. I am thankful for the love of a husband who has helped make our marriage work, a man who is generous and faithful and respects the differences we bring to our relationship.