14 Years

Earlier this week was our 14th anniversary.

I’m a huge fan of scotch whiskeys. My favorite is the 18 year MacAllan Gran Reserva.

When Karen and I married, a friend gifted us a nice young 10 year bottle of MacAllan “Fine Oak” whiskey. Karen didn’t really like the 18-25 year whiskeys that were my favorites, but she really liked the MacAllan 10 year Fine Oak. It was a fantastic gift.

I have a wide variety of whiskeys, but a few of my bottles are private bottles. For example, two of my bottles were purchased when my father, grandfather, and I visited the MacAllan distillery on vacation. The three of us used to drink shots of the whiskey together on Christmas, but grandpa has since passed. I still have a sip from his favorite bottle each Christmas.

Tuesday would have been our 14th anniversary. I wasn’t one to forget our anniversary when she was here, and don’t forget it now either. I spent most of the day doing all the thing expected of me, but at the end of the night, once I was back home, I poured a generous shot from our wedding bottle of 10 year Fine Oak, and sat out on the deck. I sipped some of the finest whiskey made while I spoke my thoughts to the sky.

I haven’t forgotten her, and none of us who knew her have either. Just this week I introduced friends to other friends, and though they’d never met each other, they each knew Karen, and instantly had that in common, telling stories, and sharing their love of her. She brought them together, even though she is no longer here.

We miss her, but she lives on through us.