Paul and I would have been together 14 years this
December. We met when we were 21 years old and hit it off immediately.
The first thing I loved about Paul was the way he made me laugh,
but not just in a way that lasted a few moments, but in a way
that lasted hours, days, years after.
Within months of meeting each other we had moved
in together and set about taking on the world united. With Paul
by my side I felt that anything was possible and with his dedication
and hard work - it was.
Paul was an adventurer and we were always going
on holidays, overseas, Noosa, skiing, down the South Coast. If
we weren't jumping in a plane somewhere, we were driving 6 hours
just for the weekend. Naturally Paul's affiliation with flying
captured his spirit of adventure and his thirst for a challenge.
Paul would always say in for a penny in for a pound, so with a
belief full of promise and heart full of passion he gave it his
all.
But you could not escape sharing Paul's love of
flying, Paul wanted you to experience his joy, his desire to leave
the earth and soar through the sky. Paul was also incredibly sentimental
and when he asked me to come flying with him I should have known
that he had something more in mind than just a joy flight.
This was the first time I would actually go flying
with Paul as the pilot. He was very nervous, seemingly not like
Paul. The airplane that Paul had booked was not available which
really annoyed him, so we had to take what Paul considered an
inferior plane. I had always been apprehensive of flying but wanted
to appear brave. We stood in front of the plane, a cool wind whipped
around the airfield. I watched the trees in the distance dance
as the breeze took hold of the branches. Paul couldn't get the
seat in the aeroplane to slide back so he could reach the pedals
required to fly the plane. All I was thinking by this stage was
sheer terror. Paul managed to get assistance from an instructor
at the flying school who slid back the chair with gentle grace,
which of course embarrassed the hell out of Paul. Paul strapped
me in the plane and with in no time we were in the air. On take
off I had pressed my fingers so deeply into the door that indentations
of my fingernails remained on the door handle. As we flew over
Warragamba Dam, Paul turned to me, put his arm around me, and
said "will you marry me".
On the 7th of May 2001 I married the love of my
life in the pristine wilderness of Alaska. Like our love, we decided
that nothing was out of the question and traveling to the last
frontier and standing in the freezing cold delivering our wedding
vows truly cemented our spirits as one.
On the 7th of May 2005 I lost the love of my life
and whilst I don't know how I will live without Paul, I know I
will live with his love always in my heart.
I love you.
I love you for
your beautiful smile that welcomed me like the sun and
unburdened me from my day
I love you for
your warm hug that cradled me from harm and warmed my soul
I love you for
your soft kisses that woke me in the morning and put me to sleep
at night
I love you for
your words that never uttered untruths only endless possibilities
I love you for
your laugh that was unbridled and full of life
I love everything
about you
I love you for
our long conversations where we shared our dreams and you would
turn to me and say it will be ours--it will be.
I love you for
believing in me without hesitation and only with conviction
I love you for
picking me a single yellow rose as soon as they bloomed
I love you for
your vision that remained uncompromised and full of passion
I love you for
your kindness that never ceased to surprise me
I love everything
about you
I love you,
I love you my darling. I love you to the stars and back
Fiona Curran-Norris
