Anniversary Reading

       Tom and I went to San Francisco this past weekend, to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary. As I was leaving our home Thursday evening with my luggage in one hand and "War and Peace" in the other, Tom said, "You're not bringing that, are you?"  Because I didn't want Tom to think that his love and attention wouldn't be enough to joyfully pass the time on our celebration weekend, I abruptly decided to leave the 3 lb. volume at home.

       By the time we got into our car, I was already having regrets.

       At the airport, waiting for the plane, I bought an Oprah magazine. It didn't come close to replacing "War and Peace". On the plane, however, the SkyMall magazine did a better job, and Tom and I had fun laughing at items to buy for our possible future home. Our favorite choice was called "The Zombie of Montclaire" a "life-size, gray-toned zombie [that] will claw his way out of your garden... pleading for assistance with the most lifelike eyes you've ever seen."

       Once in San Francisco, we kept pretty busy -- even without books to read. But I did find myself thinking about "War and Peace" occasionally. 

       At the opera, La Traviata, for instance, I thought about how families interfere with true love in both the opera and in "War and Peace" -- but not, happily, in my marriage.  When I caught a chill on Friday night, I thought about Russian and French soldiers trying to survive in much worse conditions in the fall of 1812, as foreshadowed by Tolstoy. When we went out for sushi on Saturday, I didn't think about "War and Peace" at all, but only because I tend to find sushi incredibly absorbing. 

       But on the trip home, I seriously missed my "War and Peace". I had already read SkyMall, Oprah and the airline magazine. More importantly, Prince Andrei had been seriously wounded just before I flew to San Francisco, and I wondered how he was faring. And Pierre, who was not a soldier, had been dug in with troops at the front line, and was in danger of being hit by cannon fire. The trip home, even with the love of my life beside me, seemed incredibly long.

       Somehow, after 800 pages, "War and Peace" had become an integral part of my life -- for this month at least. Perhaps, like marriage, "War and Peace" is a journey of discovery, growth and unexpected pleasures.