The Sapphire

A love letter to Liza

Once upon a time my leadership students adopted the rose as a metaphor for love, affection, approval and generosity; and if they did not have a real rose, they would affirm each other with imaginary roses.  You and I borrowed the metaphor and have affirmed each other with many imaginary roses over the years when our rose garden was otherwise not in season. 

You are indeed a rose to me, and over the years in these writings you have also been a swan, a gem, a diamond, a pearl of great value, a violet, a noble girl, an English beauty, and a lioness, among other endearments.  It has been a joy of my life to write about the love of my life with metaphors and symbols and similes to describe your character and your beauty. 

And today, Liza, you are a sapphire; and like the rose, even if we cannot come up with a real sapphire (because real sapphires are currently out of season), please accept this sentimental sapphire for you, with all the attendant feelings.

Did you know that the sapphire is the anniversary symbol for the 45th?   Surpassed only by the diamond in terms of hardness, it is unsurpassed in terms of beauty. A geological derivative of corundum, it can be found in several colors, including red, when it is known as a ruby.  It can also be orange and yellow and occasionally colorless as well, but it is most commonly polished to a deep and stunning blue. 

And that hardness quality?  You know, it is a positive thing.  You are tough in ways that I appreciate deeply.  You take care of business.  You surprise and delight me with your ability to focus and to finish.  You don’t give up easy.  You stick to your guns.  To borrow a verse from Scripture (with apologies for the paraphrase and for taking it wildly out of context), you demonstrate strength in all of my weaknesses. 

Perhaps one day I will get you a real sapphire; but when and if that day comes, the real stone will not convey — cannot convey — any more love, affection, approval and generosity than these words today.

Funny, but there is a regular time when I think of all these things, like roses and sapphires and swans and anniversaries and God’s enduring love and adhesive for our lives.  The time is Tuesday morning when I open my “undies” drawer.  There I see love’s daily devotion.  Just like the sapphire and the rose, the drawer slides open to all the newly laundered and folded metaphors for your enduring faithfulness.  Thanks for that; it shows that you are thinking about me. 

And I about you!

In a word, here’s a sapphire for you.  Happy anniversary.

Love, Me

August 2013

Note:

When Liza was a full-time stay-at-home wife and mom, she did the laundry on Mondays.  Hence my well stocked shorts and socks drawer on Tuesdays.  But please dear reader, do not think of me as a mid-century troglodyte who regards the washing as “women’s work.”  Au contraire!  I willingly pitched in; but after nuking several unmentionables, giving all new meaning to the phrase “bra burning,” a wife and three daughters forbade me from setting foot in the laundry room ever again.  Cross my heart, I did not do it on purpose.