![A keepsake announcement on textured cream paper with a hand-lettered heading "Eloped at Home" and cursive names Alan Parker & Sharon Brogan, dated 07 August 2020. The lower left holds a soft watercolor illustration of two figures seen from behind — one in red, one in pink — standing close together on a gentle rise, surrounded by green trees, with three small animals at their feet: two cats and a small dark dog. Stars are scattered lightly across the background. The overall feeling is intimate, handmade, quietly celebratory. The text reads: Wedding Announcement: To our beloved families & friends, After due deliberation, and in acknowledgment of our [pandemic] predicament, a plan was hatched ~ a sort of unmortality, so our presence in one another would last long enough. In recognition of our commitment to each other, we were wed on Zoom by Missoula Mayor John Engen. Witnesses were BeauCat, BelleTheCat, and Mr. Cricket Fluffy-Butt. No animals were harmed, no names were changed, and no rings were exchanged in the making of this marriage. We look forward to a time when we can celebrate with our families and friends in person. Though you were not here, know you are in our hearts. Alan & Sharon](https://sbpoet.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/50200635401_ab0a02aca0_k.jpg)
Today was our sixth wedding anniversary. We spent the morning, into the afternoon, in the emergency room.
Alan took his e-bike out yesterday and crashed, w/o a helmet(!) and broke his clavicle. We will go about three weeks with his arm in a sling, and me picking up at least the essential tasks he usually manages. Non-essential tasks will sit, or be done by others.
The good news is that we have both now had recent brain MRI’s, his on Wednesday and mine on The Day I Won’t Remember. Both show no signs of dementia, so that can go to the bottom of the worry list.
Married six years; coupled nine years; friends sixty years. We have both survived um … a few … challenges in those years, apart and together. We hope to successfully encounter a few more.
A few.
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