31 years

Today is the 31st anniversary of when I arrived in New Zealand as a tourist, and Nigel and I met in person for the first time. Basically, September 12, 1995 was arguably the true beginning of us becoming US—and yet, we eventually stopped mentioning this anniversary, focusing instead on November 2, the 1995 date I arrived back in New Zealand to stay.

Another reason this particular anniversary fell away is the calendar: September 12 is September 11 in the USA, and the events of that fateful date in 2001 overshadowed everything. In fact, I only started talking about it again when I began this blog, and it eventually became the kick-off for my “Season of Anniversaries” posts. Now? It’s even more poignant for me, because it was the very last anniversary Nigel and I shared was still alive: It was the very last time Nigel and I ever said "Happy Anniversary" to each other.

So, Thirty-one years ago today was the true start of the "us" that Nigel and I became, even though it was some weeks later that it became permanent. But, as I said last year, “I got to be with the love of my life for the rest of his life: How could I ever NOT remember this anniversary?”

Indeed.

Previous posts about my arrival anniversary (the first three and 2023 only mention it):

Anniversary Time (2007)
Blogoversary 2 (2008)
Anniversaries Three and Fourteen (2009)
Where it began (2010)
Anniversary of the beginning (2011)
Another anniversary (2012)
18 years ago today (2013)
19 years ago today (2014)
Twenty years ago today (2015)
21 years ago today (2016)
22 years ago today (2017)
23 years ago today (2018)
24 years ago today (2019)
25 years ago today (2020)
26 years ago today (2021)
26 years ago today (2022)
Anniversaries 17 and 28 (2023)
29 years ago today (2024)
Thirty years, Part One (2025)