Moroccan valentine

Marrakesh: and a tale of a once revolutionary Valentine

You might think you know me but here’s the thing…..I used to be a revolutionary.  

I consorted with campus radicals.   I built shantytowns in protest.  I stood in silent fury at candle light vigils.  I even went to Guatemala to attend the 500 year anniversary of resistance to Columbus. 

I decried the system, I protested organized religion, I mocked state-sponsored traditional values.

And then I met, Chris

Chris wasn’t a revolutionary.  Quite to the contrary.  On our second date, I accused him of being a Republican because of his attitude towards medication costs for the poor.  

I didn’t believe in marriage then.  I thought it was a set of societal shackles that encumbered rather than protected.  Chris disagreed.  He was Catholic.  And he wanted to marry me.  (I’m not sure why he wanted to go on a third date, much less marry me.) That was his line in the sand.  And so eventually….I married him.  And it was a happy day. 

15 years later, I am still married. 

Here’s the thing, marriage is tricky and I think that maybe I’m not an easy woman to be married to.  But somehow….he still stands by me

And so on this Hallmark sort of day, I pay a little tribute to my life partner, Chris.  

Maryam Montague & Chris Redecke

And to you, friends, wherever you may be…….Happy Valentine’s day.  May there always be love in your heart whether you are married, single or something else………...

Image by Photographer Christine Johnson