Creekmaikids - The Education Place: Today I'm the Luckiest - November 28, 2020

To every thing there is a season,
and a time for every purpose under
the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up
that which is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a
time to break down, and a time to build
up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to morn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and a
time to gather stones together; a time
to embrace, and a time to refrain from
embracing;

A time to get, and a time to lose; a
time to keep, and a time to cast away;

A time to rend, and a time to sew; a
time to keep silence, and a time to
speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate; a
time for war, and a time for peace.

A time to pray...

A time to be thankful....

A time to learn...

A time to reflect...

A time to rejoyce...

A time for faith...

A time to be kind...

A time to marry...

To every thing there is a season,
and a time for every purpose under
the heaven.

Monica with her horse Moonshine when she was 15. In Burbank you can have a horse at your house.

Monica's favorite Disney character is Cinderella.

Moni's vows:

Love: What is it? Where does it come from? What does it mean? One of the conversations you and I often have is of love, God's love. How is it measured? God loves us all, every one of us, good and bad, rich and poor, beautiful and not so beautiful. and He loves us all equally. You like to talk about Jesus and the things that may have irritated Him: like how the apostles were always sleeping or their need to know who would be first.

The last will be first and the first will be last. Why? Because in our hearts, in the hearts of those who are last, God is first. You remind me of this every day and have reminded me of this every day of our friendship. We started out seeing each other the way God sees us and seeing God in one another. You always tell me, "Let's be nice to Moni today." Why? Because God loves me. When I'm down, when I'm scared, when I'm angry, when I feel lost, what is it you say to me every time?

"Take it to God Moni. He loves you. You are very special to God." And our love has developed from that premise: that God loves us. That God is number one in our lives. That the love we share is an expression of God's love, the primary love, a love that will endure.

Sometimes it seems to make no sense in this world, but it makes sense in our world.

And our world has been filled with so many adventures - Adventures that started with physics and Charles Dickens and park benches.

If I had to qualify my love for you, I would say I love you because:

1st and foremost: because you are beautiful and because God loves you and because He allows me to see you the way He does.

I love you because you indulge me and share my crazy dog love and my crazy stuffed animal obsession.

I love you because you are a collector - you are a child.

You are : passionate, tidy, honest, silly, you say the F word, you're spontaneous, you love to sit and reflect, you're interested.

I love you because you remember poems Mr. Penfield had you memorize in high school like Wordsworth's Intimations of Immortality and T.S. Eliot's Love Song of J. Alfred Profrock.

You love time travel, you are brave, you were a wonderful teacher, you are a wonderful father.

I love you because you love our Holy Mother Mary; I love you because you have had a close relationship with God your entire life.

You let me rant, we can argue and quickly turn it around and talk about things like what's for dinner.

You love trains and fishing lures, you love Abraham Lincoln and Shelby Foote, you have relationships with people all over town like the antique guy and the Chinese Lady at Barnes & Nobles and the dog lady at the grocery store.

A lure collection.

Shelby Foote and Ken Burns.

(I love you because you call them the Chinese Lady and the Dog Lady.)

You tell great stories about Leroy Rafalski, and Ron Floto, Don Palatier and Curtis Candy, Archie Hollins and the Pocawicks, your two-room house on Artesian and the Penny Candy Store.

You forgive.

My Mom and Dad. Thomas and Margaret Floore. He called her "Maggie and Margie" and she called him "T." I call you "Moni" and you call me "B."

You love and honor your mother and father.

You believe in UFOs and multiple universes. You believe that our loved ones who have passed on are watching over us. You remind me every day to be thankful and grateful. You know that all we have is this moment.

You are a salmon.

Lucky Dog rescued from crate number nine.

You love your little dog Lucky.

You change your mind and you let me change my mind.

You love movies like Enchanted April AND Them.

You answer my phone calls with "Yay."

You look forward to deliveries.

You are Heckle to my Jeckle.

You make Christmas special. - You say "toys" like Nat King Cole.

You love my children and understand that they are my heart and soul.

Now I'd like to share some beautiful words once spoken to me:

I have known (you) before - in another life and in another time. Sometimes I think we are the same person. But when I look in the mirror , unfortunately, I do not see you. Since I have this special gift - you - I need to strive to see that you are happy, protected, encouraged, and free to grow to be yourself. I am happy being in your shadow. I am happy smiling at the things you say and do. You are my best and favorite friend and always will be.

Sound familiar? That's Calculus. You said that. And you are right, I have known you before. And all of these things I offer back to you for a lifetime.

B's vows:

Today I'm the luckiest - like the song
Why do I love you? And why do I want to be married to you?

I'll use Shakespeare's apology from the end of A Midsummer Night's Dream at the beginning of my vows because I'm sure I might offend someone. Tim said it was ok to be myself.

If we shadows have offended,

Think but this, and all is mended,

that you have but slumbered here

while these visions did appear.

and this weak and idle theme,

No more yeilding but a dream,

gentles, do not reprehend:

If you pardon, we will mend:

And, as I am an honest Puck,

If we have unearned luck

now to 'scape the serpent's tongue,

We will make amends ere long;

Else the Puck a liar call;

So, good night unto you all.

Give me your hands, if we be friends,

and Robin shall resore amends.

The 2nd grade picture of you - Nicole - anorexia - Christmas

Being pulled out of the line at Big Bear

You assess people by their actions and behaviors, not their words

Sometimes I see us as Pooh Bear and Piglet - an odd loving pair - I'm Pooh Bear.

You were born across from the Disney Studios. You love everything Disney.

You make me feel: attractive - smart - worthy of love - like a man - feminists don't make men feel like men - dads, brothers, sons

You have complete trust in me

Your little legs can go very fast

Your cute nose

Your jammies

You sleeping like an angel

How you took your kids trick or treating
or took them to see fireworks or Christmas lights

That you are okay that I don't always join in

That I always can be my crazy self around you

That you don't criticse my purchases

How you no longer want to watch It's A wonderful Life and George Baily letting Uncle Billy be in charge of the savings and loan money

How you are so nice to Rose and Helen

How hard it was to tell your family - Clare, then Lorenzo, then Tim, then your parents, then Joe, and finally Shannon

You are so beautiful

The garden just like the place where Jesus prayed

Holy matrimony - God - in prayer/we ask God to listen; marriage is a sacrament, we are asking God to/participate

You know you will be there at the end of my life

Today I will no longer be JUST the guy on the couch

Today I will be an official step-dad

Today one outsider is marrying another outsider

Metaphor - George Costanza - Frogger Game

Tommy - God

My prayer

Our core values; things we both value: faith in God, in each other, family - dogs -being Americans

100 lbs of clay

The two people most supportive of our marriage never met me - humor, honesty, authenticness - the opposite of pod people, stay in your pod, live in your pod

We are body, mind, spirit

13 chromosones/ DNA

Speigel: intelligence, pragmatism, science, mathematics, logic, problem solving and questioning

Stafford: creativity, music, art, liteature, writing, plays, operas, movies, feelings/emotions

You have all the attributes of goodness - kind, thoughtful, caring, loving, generous, empathetic, honest and forgiving

You have courage, are hard working and very very intelligent

(Monica interjected,"I want to marry me!")

I see you every day in many roles: mother - unconditional love and sacrifice; daughter - call dad; sister; friend; student; writer; home owner; gardner; plumber; electician; Christian -

How much of your Catholic faith means: rosary - Euchrist, Holy Mother, God lifting you up; so proud of you

Every time you call me your picture appears on the phone and every time my heart goes pitter patter

You are my best friend, we have so much in common, I want to spend every day I have left with you and for eternity

Warm memories of good times - Christmas with kids, Read Aloud, chicken leg during Read Aloud, Gravity Falls, Silence of the Lambs

Though I speak with the tongues of men, but have not love, I am become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal.

And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could move mountains, and have not love, I am nothing.

And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but not have love, it profiteth me nothing.

Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself; is not puffed up,

Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinkith no evil;

Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in truth;

Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

Love never faileth, but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, Jesus, then that which is in part will be done away.

When I was a child I spake as a child, understood as a child, thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

For now we see through a glass, darkly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I am known.

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Love is the reason in marriage we embrace our wedding vows.

Now let me introduce to the world Mrs. Monica Blake Stafford Floore

On the tree you can see a yellow angel. Lorenzo made that ornament in a Catholic kindergarten at Saint Odelia. He wrote his name on it and his teacher erased his name and wrote her name on it. I love that ornament and the story behind it. If you look close you can still see where he wrote his name. Lorenzo as an angel always brings a smile to our faces.