Reflections On Our Crystal Anniversary

Most people celebrate their New Year on January 1 while Catholics celebrate the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.The Catholic new liturgical year started on December 1, 2024 the first Sunday of Advent and the Jubilee year kicked off on Christmas Eve. For Kristin and I January 2 is our new year. January 2, 2010 we enhanced friendship by becoming husband and wife and got married.

That was 15 years ago.

Back in 2010

Here are some of the the many things that happen in life 15 years ago mixed in with some of the many memories that have happened to us over the last 15 years of our marriage.

Picture This

The ‘Finger-Assisted’ Nephrectomy of Professor Nadey Hakim and the World Presidents of the International College of Surgeons in Chicago, or, The Wise in Examination of the Torn Contemporary State is a painting by British artist Henry Ward depicting transplant surgeon Nadey Hakim demonstrating the removal of a living donor kidney. It is on display at Başkent University, Ankara, Turkey.

While I don’t draw I do write this blog which will celebrate 5 years on May 10. It was on Mother’s Day 2020 that I published our first Catholic Bard article, By The Light Of My Prayer. I used to dabble in making videos which I have gotten away from and perhaps will start doing it more in the new year. That is one of my goals anyway.  My creativity is there but sporadic when used and dormant and hibernating most of the time.

News of the World

January 4, 2010:  – The tallest man-made structure to date, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is officially opened. We didn’t go there for our honeymoon, although that would have been cool. We went to Disney World instead. Over the next 15 years we traveled to Florida several times to visit Kristin’s parents who have a house in Florida. Once with our daughter Princess.

We adopted her on November 22, 2014 and she became Catholic at Easter 2015.

January 22, 2010: – The Waterford Crystal tourist centre in Kilbarry, County Waterford closed. On January 2, 2025 we celebrate our Crystal anniversary.

February 3, 2010: – A fireball was seen across Ireland when a meteoroid explodes at an altitude of 100 miles, and fragments entered the atmosphere. Public excitement caused Astronomy Ireland‘s website to crash. Ireland has always played a big role in our relationship. In 2018 we went to Ireland for the first time together.

And we went again in 2024.

We’ve also gone on trips to

Amish Country- Where we were the only ones to sleep in a tent while others were sleeping in campers. Someone had to help us set our tent up.

Washington D.C.

Colorado Springs, Colorado

Where our next trip to is, I don’t know.

April 2, 2010: – Alcohol was served in pubs and hotels in Limerick on Good Friday after businesses were given special legal permission to do so because of the Munster versus Leinster rugby match in the Celtic League at Thomond Park. Drinkers in Limerick benefited from an “area exemption order”, which was introduced in section 10 of the Intoxicating Liquor Act 1962. This exemption was granted by a District Court judge to cover a special event, enabling pubs in Limerick to serve alcohol between the hours of 6 pm and 11.30 pm. Kristin’s father is from Limerick.

Kristin and I belong  to the Ceilidhe Club of Rhode Island where we attend concerts, lectures and take Irish Ceilidhe dance lessons.

April 3, 2010:  – The first iPad was released. I usually use my phone and my laptop to communicate with others and type The Catholic Bard. I thought this computer was going to die a long time ago but it’s still going, just like our Marriage.

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April 20, 2010:  – The Deepwater Horizon oil drilling platform explodes in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 workers. The resulting Horizon oil spill, one of the largest in history, spreads for several months, damaging the waters and the United States coastline, and prompting international debate and doubt about the practice and procedures of offshore drilling. I worked at CatholicTV at the time and Kristin got a job at a shoe store where she bought me a wonderful blanket that I still have today and sleep with at night. In 2015 I lost my job at CatholicTV and got my old job delivering pizzas’ at Papa Gino’s and as a member of the MET team at Home Depot. This changed my sleeping pattern as I had to get up at 5:00 AM everyday. My sleeping schedule is still messed up today.

Eventually I left both the pizza and house supplies business and took up the field that I am now involved in which is working in the culinary department at a nursing home. I’ve been doing that for the past decade. I first worked at St. Patrick’s Manor which Kristin left a job at Chic-Fil-A to volunteer there full time. It was at St. Patrick’s that we meet a young man who eventually dated our daughter, converted to being Catholic in which Princess was his sponsor and he is now getting ready to enter a closeted monastery.

July 13, 2010: – 2010 was the end of an era for Windows 2000 as Microsoft ended extended support for it. It was the end of my life as Me as Kristin and I started our life as We. Living as a married couple puts you in a position to always think of another before you think of yourself. It causes you to be less selfish as you take others, your spouse and children into consideration when you do things.

October 13, 2010: 33 miners are rescued after spending 69 days trapped in a Chilean copper mine. It is later turned into a movie called ‘The 33” (2015) It starred Antonio Banderas. These men were rescued by others who went out of their way to care to help them out in their plight. Kristin and I have both volunteered for the Sarmatians which is a suicide prevention hotline. We have also attended a non-denominational church group that gives out food, clothes, and Christian spirtuality to those in downtown Providence.

October 22, 2010: -The International Space Station surpasses the record for the longest continuous human occupation of space, having been continuously inhabited since November 2, 2000 (3641 days). But as of January 2, 2025 we will have been married for 5,479 days. In the time we have been married we have been to a few weddings together. Sadly some of those weddings have now ended. How have we lasted and others have not?

When there are no romantic feelings you still have friendship.
When you can’t have sex or can’t be physically intimate you still have friendship.
When you don’t feel all gooey inside when you see your beloved, you still have friendship.

In marriage you have a committed on-fire friendship that is sealed with a commited vow.

From my experience that is what makes a good foundation for a marriage.

I call my Kris on my lunch break at work and on my 20 minute drive home.
I still look forward to seeing her at the end of the day.
Our friendship level has not changed.

The Secret To Long Lasting Relationships 

November 2, 2010:  – 2010 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 2, 2010, in the middle of Democratic President Barack Obama‘s first term. Republicans ended unified Democratic control of Congress and the presidency by winning a majority in the House of Representatives. Pope Benedict XVI was president.

2025 will mark the return of Donald Trump as president and
Pope Francis is the pope.

November 11 – 12, 2010:  – The G-20 summit is held in Seoul, South Korea. Korea becomes the first non-G8 nation to host a G-20 leaders summit.  Framingham, MA was the first place we lived at as a couple. During that time we had several people live with us in our quant little house.

• A homeless woman named Laura we meet at the adoration chapel in Natick.
• Our Friend Brendon who was going to school down the street.
• Our Daughter Princess
• My Cousin who came over one night to sleep over and didn’t leave for several months
• A co-worker at St. Patrick’s named Jamie  who needed a place to stay and ended up stealing money from us.
• Princess’s BF at the time named Spencer. Princess ended up leaving and he stated for 3 years after that.
• Princess’s friend Trisha
• A homeless woman named Kathleen who was recommended to us by Jackson.

October 6, 2021 we moved from Massachusetts to Rhode Island to be closer to Kristin’s family where I moved from working at St. Patrick’s Manor to St. Elizabeth Home.

December, 2010: – The last month of the year was a good time to look up at the heavens. Comet Hale Bopp was found again around 30.7 AU away from the Sun. The previous time the Comet was found was in April 1997.

December 21, 2010:  – The first total lunar eclipse to occur on the day of the Northern winter solstice and Southern summer solstice since 1638 takes place. This was 4 days before we spent our first Christmas as a married couple together. We spent the previous year as an engaged couple and got married just over a week later.

Mysterious World

December 22, 2010 – Spontaneous Human Combustion  – The death of Michael Faherty, a 76-year-old man in County Galway, Ireland, was recorded as “spontaneous combustion” by the coroner. The doctor, Ciaran McLoughlin, made this statement at the inquiry into the death: “This fire was thoroughly investigated and I’m left with the conclusion that this fits into the category of spontaneous human combustion, for which there is no adequate explanation.”

I often play ‘Jimmy Akin’s Mysterious World’ in the car on long trips in which this incident is an episode of his podcast.

Arrivals

Emmanuella (born July 22, 2010), mononymously known as Emmanuella, is a Nigerian child comedian on Mark Angel‘s YouTube channel. Emmanuella’s first appearance was on episode 34, titled “Who Mess?”

Tanitoluwa Adewumi (September 3, 2010) Nigerian-American chess player

In our marriage lifetime we have a granddaughter who just turned 4 and is under the care of two wonderful moms who take good care of her. She was born on the same day as the best man at our wedding Marshall Myers.

Departures

Leslie Nielsen (February 11, 1926 – November 28, 2010) was a Canadian actor and comedian. With a career spanning 60 years, he appeared in more than 100 films and 150 television programs, portraying more than 220 characters.

Director Blake Edwards (July 26, 1922 – December 15, 2010), He is best known for his Pink Panther Films.

Tom Bosley  (October 1, 1927 – October 19, 2010) was an American actor, television personality and entertainer. Bosley is best known for portraying Howard Cunningham on the ABC sitcom Happy Days (1974–1984) for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series nomination. He was also the title character in the NBC/ABC series Father Dowling Mysteries (1989–1991).

Kristin and I have lost several people in the last 15 years including

• My Mother Louise Wilson
• Some Uncles and Aunts
• Kristin’s Grandparents. One at Christmastime and the other at Thanksgiving
• My personal friends Pattie Goodale and Sam Mutlu
• And some other relatives, former co-workers and other acquaintances

Hey A Movie

Also in theaters is Disney’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (Spinoff from Fantasia)

Kristin and I like to watch movies and TV shows together. We like to laugh together and also to be in suspense together when we watch something that puts us on the edge of our seats. Here is something we laugh at and often reference together.

Looking forward to some 2025 movies. I’m interested in this film but Kristin will probably not be.

On the Airwaves

Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated  – A favorite of Jimmy Akin’s first episode April 5, 2010 premiered on July 12, 2010. The series concluded on April 5, 2013, after two seasons and fifty-two episodes.

WWE ECW June 13, 2006 –February 16, 2010

Sherlock 13 episodes have been produced, with four three-part series airing from 2010 to 2017, with Dr. Strange’s s Benedict Cumberbatch, Marvel Universe and The Hobbit’s Martin Freeman and created by Doctor Who’s Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss

No Ordinary Family  ran from September 28, 2010, to April 5, 2011, on Tuesdays at 8:00pm ET/PT. The show centers on the Powells, a typical American family living in fictional Pacific Bay, California, whose members gain special powers after their plane crashes in the Amazon, Brazil.

I would say that our household was not Ordinary either.

Currently in 2025 we are watching the shows..

• Silo (TV series), season 2
• The Tourist (TV series) 
• Ghosts (American TV series)

On Tuesday Nights at Immaculate Conception Church in Cranston we have been attending viewings of The Chosen. The priest shows us an episode of the hit biblical drama and then explains the Catholic takeaways from the episode. Season 5 is coming up.

 The Chosen Season 5

Publications Hot of the Press

June 24, 2010 – Neil Gaiman becomes the first author to win both the Carnegie Medal and the Newbery Medal for the same book — The Graveyard Book.

The Fathers Know Best: Your Essential Guide to the Teachings of the Early Church by Jimmy Akin,
Alex O’Donnell and the 40 Cyber Thieves by Catholic Author Regina Doman
I’ll Mature When I’m Dead: Dave Barry’s Amazing Tales of Adulthood (2010) by Humorist Dave Barry
Murder in Metachronopolis (2010) by Catholic SF Author John C Wright found in the collection City Beyond Time: Tales of the Fall of Metachronopolis (2014)
Clementine and Dreadnought by Cherie Priest
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

March 18, 2025
“Sunrise on the Reaping” by Suzanne Collins

After the success of “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” “Sunrise on the Reaping” is anticipated to be one of the biggest books of the year. The fifth book in “The Hunger Games” series tells the story of Haymitch Abernathy, the second District 12 competitor to win the eponymous Hunger Games after Lucy Gray. Since the story is a prequel, we know how Haymitch’s story ends, but getting the details will be worth the read. 15 Most Anticipated Books of 2025 | PS Books

In Framingham I was part of a Sci-Fi reading group. I may have found a new one here in Rhode Island.  We attend the Irish book club at the Ceilidhe Club of Rhode Island where we sometimes actually read the book of the month.

Good Sports

The 2010 Winter Olympics begin airing from Vancouver, British Columbia on NBC and its family of networks. The remake of the 1985 song “We Are the World” for victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake debuts as part of NBC’s ceremonies broadcast the games are marred by tragedy when Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili is killed in a training run on the night of the opening ceremonies.

We don’t watch Sports together. But this sport event is coming up in 2025.

August 7–17, 2025
The 2025 World Games will take place in Chengdu, China.

Sanctifying Time

June 6-  Father Jerzy Popiełuszko is beatified  by Archbishop Angelo Amato in Warsaw’s Piłsudski Square. His mother, Marianna Popiełuszko, was present at the event.

September 25-Beatification of Chiara Badano.

John Henry Newman was beatified on September 19, 2010

October 17, 2010 Mary MacKillop (1842–1909) becomes the first Australian to be canonized  as a saint.

October 17, 2010 – The Pilgrim Life   André Bessette, C.S.C. (August 9, 1845 – January 6, 1937) is canonized.  He is the first Canadian living after Confederation to be canonized. Ambitious pilgrims can travel  from Montréal’s Saint Joseph’s Oratory to the Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré basilica in Québec City.

Our Catholic faith is very important to us. We both taught Catechism at St. Georges.

I recently joined the Catholic Men of St. Joseph’s.

Kristin recently took her final vows as a 3rd order Carmelite.

Maybe someday we will become Saints together.

The Sound of Music and Other Cultural Milestones

These were some of the hit Songs of the year.
All The Right Moves by OneRepublic
Hold Us Together  by Catholic Artist Matt Maher
It’s Time Imagine Dragons
Something In The Water by Christian artist Brooke Fraser

Kristin is off key and off pitch when she sings. But she sings anyway. Whenever I start to sing the first line of a song that she knows she sings the rest of the song. She is actually in tune when she sings with an Irish accent.

Final Thoughts

These are some of the many things that happen in life 15 years ago.

These are some of the many memories that have happened over the last 15 years of our marriage.

What are some of your memories of all the years of your marriage.