On this day...

On this day, in 1957, my parents were married.

For fifty years, January 26 was a day of celebration for our family, with a tradition of sharing a special dinner at our favourite local restaurant for something like twenty of those years.

When Dad died, that all changed, and for the last five years, January 26 has been a bittersweet day of sadness; remembering 50 years of good times, but also feeling the intensity of the loss.

Today, after five anniversaries apart, Mum and Dad will be together again on their special day. Whilst there is some consolation in the thought that Mum and Dad's five year separation is now over, I still find it hard, as the meaning of this day for them only underlines the fact that they are now both gone, and I miss them both so much.

So please excuse me if I find it hard to get excited about the nationalistic jingoism of Australia Day (or to even complain about the nationalistic jingoism, as I normally would). Today is a hard day for me, and probably will be for some years to come.