Many Moons – Many Anniversaries

I checked out the above waxing crescent moon before I went to bed last night. The beginning of a new lunar cycle. My wedding anniversary. I checked it out again when I got up to let the Beagle Brothers out and did some early morning grounding while hugging The Old Man.

I got to wondering how many moon cycles I have experienced during my tenure as a married man.

Thanks to AI, I quickly established that there have been approximately 581 full moons over the last 47 years I have been married, between July 1978 and July 2025.

That’s a lot of magic. A lot of Lunacy.

And the one constant, through the ups and downs, highs and lows, the fuck ups and recoveries, was the woman beside me who couldn’t have had a clue what she was signing up for when she agreed to go out on that first date with that reprehensible Bronx boy, Mt. St. Vincent Security Guard, back in 77.

Lisa arrived in my life during the heyday of Aunt Violet’s Flop House and hung in there right through The Casa Claire experience.

Honestly, I don’t know how she did it. I’m not even sure why she did it. She must be mad. If she wasn’t in the beginning, she is certifiable now.

Hailing from Lucille Ball’s home town, she became a forever Bronx girl. Owns it proudly.

Stubborn, tough, an absolute angel on a good day, and wonderfully devilish when the times called for that. And sometimes when they didn’t. Nice ass. Bad assed.

Through it all, she believed in those early day dreams that I spun, even though, at the time, I had no record to suggest I could do it, or means of being able to capture them. But she never let me quit trying. Ever.

During our marital tenure, she made sure that I, a drop out, became formally educated, right up through my JD. Worked to support us. She rolled the dice. Took the wins and losses. Never gave up on me.

I have held a bunch of different jobs. Fired from some. Quit from others. Spent 4 of those decades successfully working in the legal profession. Mostly as a litigator in the entertainment field. Met a lot of really famous and cool people. Worked with and against some truly brilliant lawyers. Some assholes too. I’m sure I’ve been added to many asshole collections as well.

Picked up a few stories along the way.

Last four years I’ve also worked as a writer. That has been the most rewarding. Liberating. Nice to be the dog and not the flea. Create something new and entertaining, make people laugh and cry, not just fix someone else’s problems.

Early on, Lisa went back to college and carved out her own profession as a Nurse. RN/BSN. A brilliant one. Came in handy along the way. Patched us all up. Saw right through any malingering. There was lots of that.

All the while she has been an amazing wife and mother.

We raised three kids, got them educated, right through decades of sports, extra curriculars, travel, private schools and college. Lots of excitement and adventures, after all, they are McCaffreys. Been there for all of their successes. Picked them up and dusted them off when the curve balls came. They always do. Carried them over some bumps in the road. Never let them quit. Seen them off into adulthood and marriage, watched as they started their own families. We are very pleased at who they have become. A continuing legacy.

Just like my parents (and grandparents) did for me. Contribute to the family cycle. Do whatever it takes.

And we always had our families to lean on. It takes a Clan.

But it was not easy. Mea Maxima Culpa. I am fallible. Lisa has put up with a whole lot of shit over almost half a century, and stuck it out when others may not have to make me a relatively better man, if not a decent one. I owe her for that. I thank her for that. I love her for that.

And when Lisa learned that the first novel I had finally written – The Wise Ass – was going to be published, there were tears in her eyes. She was selflessly happy. For me.

Now, that’s love.

So darling, here’s to the next half century. Another cycle begins. More lunacy and stories. So, hang in there.

And for you fine, five readers, let that story begin with us all getting over this Hump Day.

Do whatever it takes to move your story forward. Never quit. Ever.

Wave at Friday at the peak. It is waiting impatiently for the weekend to begin. The best part of any story.

And, no matter what else we get up to, let us make today a great one.