Fourth anniversary

Vaiva died four years ago today.

Liepa and Teddy were married today

Here's my toast:

I’d like to thank everyone for being here to share this special day with us. A special shout-out to my family from Minneapolis, and the award for longest trip goes to Aras, Renata, Adrija and Dagne, who are here from Vilnius, Lithuania.

Weddings are always emotional, but today is especially poignant for me. My wife Vaiva and I were married 34 years and 51 weeks ago, and our wedding reception was held in this same hall.  Not much has changed.

I’d like to share a couple thoughts with you about Vaiva, Liepa’s mother, who died four years ago.  Vaiva’s parents were immigrants to America, from Lithuania, after World War II.  Vaiva’s father joined the Lithuanian army after world war I, and fought in the successful war for independence from Russia.  We would probably call him a patriot, but the Lithuanians named him, and those like him, a volunteer, a savanoris.  He came to the aid of his country in its hour of need.

Savanoris usually refers to the military, but I think that Vaiva deserves the title as well.  She kept faith in the future of Lithuania during the years of communist occupation. When independence was restored, Vaiva co-founded a private voluntary organization, the American professional partnership for Lithuanian education. The program for accelerating education reform, a turning away from the communist models, exposed Lithuanian education professionals to their peers from America. 

Vaiva came to the aid of her country in its hour of need, she was a savanoris.

Vaiva would have been very pleased, as I am very pleased, to welcome Teddy as my son-in-law.  Mostly, of course, it’s because he makes my daughter so happy. And it doesn’t hurt that Teddy has the courage to have a beard.

But I am especially thrilled that Teddy understands and appreciates our family history, and the he, too, is a savanoris.

To Liepa and Teddy!

Vaiva would be 58 today

Today would have been her birthday.  Sigita came by, picked some produce with us from the garden.  Vaiva was a fanatical gardener, 2008, her last, was one of her best.