It's Our Anniversary

Tuomo writes: It’s our fourth (?!) Canadian anniversary. On this day, four years ago on our trip to Vancouver – long before we even started the immigration process – we decided to get married. Straight people would’ve done it years earlier, but in the US, getting married wasn’t something that was even an option. Most importantly, tying the knot wouldn’t affect our lives in the United States one way or the other. Dave would still not be able to sponsor my Green Card, a privilege available to thousands of bi-national couples, some of which are shams and thus instances of abuse of immigration laws.

But thanks to Canada this right was made available and eventually helped us move to Canada as a couple… We’re still a little confused about the importance of this day: should we make a big deal of it – or an enormous one… :-)

At any rate, I’d like to share a song with you Vem tänder stjärnorna “Who Lights the Stars,” a song by Eva Dahlgren, who also happens to be lesbian. The lyrics in Swedish and her dark, husky voice make chills run down my spine, but it is the refrain in particular that crystallizes my feelings for Dave and how he is important in my life:

...men vem vänder vindarna
vem får mej att gå
dit jag aldrig gått
vem tänder stjärnorna
som bara jag ser i dina ögon
vem vänder vindarna
och för mej dit min tanke aldrig nått

And here’s a translation (with some poetic licenses):

But who changes the direction of the winds
Who makes me go
There where I’ve never gone before
Who lights the stars
That only I can see in your eyes
Who changes the direction of the winds
And gets me there where my thoughts have never reached

As an interesting footnote on teh YouTube page, someone had written in Norwegian that they had used this song at their wedding/commitment ceremony! This suggests how Eva Dahlgren, who sings only in Swedish, is not only very well-known but also well-loved beyond her home country.