26 March 2005, Hurstbridge, Melbourne, Australia
SMILE LOOK AROUND SMOOTH POSITIVE ENJOY CHEERFULL RELAX KISS IT ???
??? Wait …
Right everybody. It took too long for voices off and eyes and ears this way. We’ll have to make up that time by staying in for a bit longer at the end of the night.
It is great that you are all here. I hope you’ve been having as good a day as me. Mine would be hard to top though, because Jane just married me.
Please excuse the notes and choosing to read my speech. This way my bouts of repetition, irrelevancy and waffling might be less of a distraction for us all.
Jane, You always have a stunning presence about you. You look amazing today and have made me so proud….and gushy.
Mum and Dad. Can I publicly introduce you, to who you thought I might have been. Before the days of ultrasound it was always a good idea, as expecting parents, to have a name set aside for the arrival of either a boy or a girl. I can imagine that there may have been a hint of good karma in your thoughts today. You have not only a wonderful daughter in law, but one who bears the name you had ready for me but have never had the chance to use. Mum and Dad: The girl I hope I might have become had a Y chromosome been there for me. Jane Money.
I feel honoured Jane, that you have chosen to take on our problematic family name. However, it makes cents!! Ha Ha
I’m also very chuffed that the fact that there’s been no change in Jane’s initials, means I can keep referring to her the way I’ve always liked. My JEM.
I’ve become a great believer in the importance of time and place in the in the quality of the friendships and relationships that we make, keep and build on. Over the past fifteen years, I have, when not completely impractical, or suspiciously creepy, made it a priority to be in particular places at particular times. Where Jane is. When she is there.
Here is how it Started back in 1990:
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7:30 at hockey training. Easy
Tuesdays and especially Thursdays 9:30 at Naughton’s after training. Easy
Saturday or Sunday afternoons at our games. Easy
Saturday nights 8:00 at Naughton’s. Easy
After a few years it became harder work to find a way to get myself in the same place, at the same time, in order to spend some of my day with Jane.
Asking for a Neil Diamond ticket for me when she gets hers… She thought I was joking… No ticket
Getting in on the Federation Peak Tassie hike and wrangling it so she would share my new tent. The weather turned us back but it did cause a whole day to be spent in the tent with her.
Asking if I could come along with her in her Landcruiser and help out with her meals on wheels rounds. I got to drive and the clutch finally gave up. Sorry Jane. No more Cruiser.
Tried hard not to think about all the preparation needed the day before my first ever teaching job started. Instead hanging out in her pool all day. Margarita in hand. Thanks Diane for the advice about the importance of being prepared in teaching during the lift to Hurstbridge station that evening.
Then Jane spent about four years travelling, three living in New York and one in Sydney. I took any opportunity to see her when she came back occasionally. The queue however was pretty long.
I called Jane in Sydney on the way out to the airport when I spent most of 2001 overseas. I suggested she come and have a holiday back in New York with me later in the year. It never happened but a day after my return she called and offered me the spare room in her flat. Jane was now back in Melbourne. Time and Place was something I would not have to worry much about anymore.
After a month or so of long sessions of cooking, drinking, favourite song sharing and many travel, university days, and other conversations, Jane soon made it very clear to me, right where the bar is today, that all my hard work over the last decade or more, had paid off. We no longer needed separate rooms.
Since then; four years ago now; being in the same place at the same time as Jane has been a continual privilege. And today I have been able to let her and all of you know that it will be for the rest of my life. It has been wonderful to be so welcomed into the Morgan family – I am excited to be officially part of the clan.
Jane,…. My Bride. ……You are how I want to spend my time. …….You’re a great place to be at. ….. I love you.