She had been talking about this party for months, so I was as excited as she was. I was a little worried about the weather though, but Mari said she had checked it and it was going to be perfect, just as she had planned.

At the day of the party, the rain started early that morning, just as we were setting everything up. By the time the party was supposed to start, it was raining cats and dogs outside. Mari was sitting on the couch, staring out the window in disbelief.

“This is a disaster,” she said. “My pool party is ruined.” I tried to comfort her, saying we could figure it out. We moved everything inside, and what was supposed to be a pool party turned into an indoor party. As the music started and the first few people began dancing, I saw Mari starting to enjoy her party. Slowly, the mood shifted from disappointed to something better.

A little while later, she told me, “Okay, maybe you were right. This is still pretty fun. I guess being surrounded by good friends is what really matters.”

We went to many places and imprinted a lot of memories on our daughter.

Now, the day my wife returns to her work is just around the corner and we will remember all the moments we spent together.