25 years ago, Bill Clinton was president, there was a war going on in Bosnia, the Unabomber was on the loose, the X Files were “out there,” and Whitney Houston topped the charts with “I Will Always Love You.”
Could there have been a better song to commemorate what historians would later document as the most momentous event of 1993? Yes, we are talking about the mysterious, delirious—and a bit less than serious—marriage of Tim and Jackie. It was, as FDR said at the time, a day that will live in infamy!
To mark this proud milestone, here are 25 of the countless memories we’ve shared as a family:
1. A really terrific New Year’s Eve wedding that resulted in the banning of Silly String at the reception hall and the launch of a new Archie McPhee cake topper.
2. An amazing kid named Madeline, born in 1996 amid a medical adventure, now an immunology graduate student at UC/Cincinnati Children’s.
3. An amazing kid now named Rori, who started in 1999 as Alliea, but has shown more than a little bit of an independent streak as she continues her studies at Ohio U.
4. The passings of Jackie’s brother Rick, and Tim’s dad Jim, and too many other dear friends, family and neighbors.
5. Jackie’s years of success as an academic lighthouse, earning her Master’s degree and guiding the journeys of at least 2,000 young minds in the Mason and Cincinnati school districts.
6. Tim’s transition from a 23-year journalism career to a “new” role (nine years ago!) at Cincinnati Children’s.
7. Uncounted wonderful visits and adventures with Grandma Mickey and Grandpa Jack, from bug collecting and candy making to fun at Tall Stacks and talking our way into a closed aerospace museum in Seattle.
8. Many excellent trips to visit Grandma Faye and Grandpa Jim in Florida, from chasing lizards to relaxing at the beach to visiting the Kennedy Space Center, Disney and Harry Potter’s world.
9. Unforgettable family trips to England, Washington DC, Boston, Philadelphia, the Outer Banks and more.
10. Jackie and Madeline touring Paris and making their own macarons.
11. Tim and Rori backpacking to a perfect spot to see the Great Solar Eclipse of 2017.
12. Our wonderful dogs Sugar and Shelby, a long list of fish and rodents with odd stories, and a frog that glowed from the inside after eating lightning bugs.
13. Cicadas in the yard. Cicadas in our hair. Cicadas as a school project. Cicadas in the dollhouse!
14. Nine YEARS connected to Walnut Hills, including six years of Marching Band life, with Madeline on clarinet, Rori in color guard, Jackie as the “Unimommer,” and Tim writing checks and schlepping stuff.
15. Driving all over town, back and forth to Toledo, and up and down the Eastern Seaboard in an old Honda, another not-so-old Honda, a fun Ford pickup, a terrible Dodge minivan, our wonderful “Cabrio-sleigh,” a Fiat named Giuseppe, and the second Hyundai Veloster ever sold in Cincinnati.
16. Jackie’s Ornamental Objects, our short-lived but successful craft business.
17. Years and years of craft projects: home-made baby furniture, custom-painted bedrooms, backyard shed construction, papier mache fish, and no less than 1,275 handmade holiday cards.
18. Wonderful homes shared together: from an apartment in Oakley to a small house in Pleasant Ridge to our current home in Ridgewood.
19. Great times at Bon-a-Lago, dah-ling! Especially cheap champagne in the inflatable hot tub!
20. Surviving being fired: Jackie from AQP and Tim from the Cincinnati Business Courier.
21. Renewing our vows in Las Vegas, as officiated by the absolutely real and fully costumed Elvis himself.
22. Three years of bird-watching and birding together, now more than 140 species on our life list.
23. Serving as the least religious godparents ever to the amazing Dosa boys: Emmaus, Silas and Gabriel.
24. Serving as the least legitimate parents ever to our “adopted” doctor kids, Arthur and Amber.
25. Annoying and/or amusing anyone who spends time with our Fargo-talking alter egos, Marge and Lou DerVonDerBon.
We have been so fortunate to have such wonderful people in our lives. Thank you for putting up with us! May you all have a happy, healthy holiday season, however you choose to celebrate spaceship Earth making another trip around the Sun!