43 Years

Today is our 43rd anniversary. You'd think by now we could ace the Newlywed Game or some other game show about how well do you know your spouse.

Maybe. Maybe not.

For instance, this morning, at breakfast, I served orange juice in two pretty little glasses engraved "20th Anniversary". I told him the girls had given us those glasses 23 years ago. "Hmmm, I'd have failed that question on a game show," he said. That's ok. They have been mostly on display for the last 23 years. This morning I chose to use them.

However, there have been times when we have been so in sync it is positively scary.

There was the Christmas we gave each other the same gift. We bought each other bath towels with ducks on them. True...we had spent the whole trip south to Florida from our vacation in Connecticut stopping at outlet malls looking for duck towels to go in our newly redecorated bathroom featuring mallard ducks. We hadn't found any then. Yet, 5 months later, there were several towels in wrapped boxes under the tree.

There was the Christmas we bought each other Christmas cards that looked different on the outside, but had the exact same message in it!

Sometimes it can be scary.

And then there was yesterday. We are in the middle of this move. We've been overwhelmed by the unpacking. There are address changes to make, insurance to set up, auto tags to apply for. Plenty to do, and little time to get it all done. (The kids are popping in for a visit with the grand kids in a little over a week from now.) Lots to get us sidetracked. So I tentatively asked him the other night, "We aren't exchanging gifts are we?" He glanced over. "Uh-uh" he says with conviction. OK. Phew... because I hadn't had a chance to even think what to get him!

Of course I didn't want to be completely unprepared so yesterday, I ran out to Walmart to pick up a prescription AND to get him an Anniversary card. I came home and tried to sign it behind his back before we went out for the day; Movie, sofa shopping and dinner at my favorite restaurant. I planned to present the card at dinner. It was the perfect card... It started out "Today is the day to drop everything, ignore the demands, put the world on hold..." Yes it was, and we were doing just that!

He saw what I was doing and looked sheepishly at me. "Ummm, I didn't get you a card."

"You WHAT? You didn't GET me a card????" Incredulous, yes. (But honestly, not upset.) However, I had to rub it in. I left the card at home, and reminded him he still had a day to get me one. He wasn't off the hook yet!

After we bought the sofa, later that afternoon, we had some time to kill before dinner and I saw him scoping out the cards in a gift shop.

This morning we exchanged our cards at the breakfast table. Our day to 'drop everything' was past, but the rest of the card still said what I felt. I opened his card. There was a hot fudge sundae on the front with lots of whipped cream and two cherries. (My kind of dessert!)

"Building a life with you is the sweetest treat of all"....it said. "That says it all" he added.

And that's what anniversaries are all about. Celebrating the present, the past, the moment, the memories. Appreciating the moments when you are in complete sync, and laughing about the moments when you are in two different orbits.

And this year... just being glad to make it to the end of the day still smiling, and looking forward to a good night's sleep. And ready to do it again, tomorrow!

Happy Anniversary, Honey! Here's to Many, Many More!!

40 Years Ago Today

40 years ago today, I married the love of my life. Although back then you couldn't have convinced me I would ever feel differently, today I am 40 years wiser. I know how easily and often things change between couples. So today I feel especially honored to say that I am still married to the love of my life.

I really wanted to find a way to celebrate this event so recently we decided to treat ourselves to a one of a kind trip next spring, either on a cruise ship or on a cross country train excursion. Last night, however, we marked the day in a traditional way with a dinner out at a wonderful restaurant called Shakespeare near Ellwood City. The building looks like a castle and is on a golf course. The food was not traditional Elizabethan fare, but good old seafood for us "Floridians".

As we ate we reminisced on favorite foods we've experienced. It was a pretty cool way to look back over the years! The best calamari was in Anchorage. It was mouth wateringly unbelievable! One spring break we stayed at a little place on the St. Johns River in Florida. I've never really cared for fried clams, but we tried them at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant near there and ended up going back every night for more. The best clam chowder ever was at Selena's, a little restaurant in Tampa. And we've even been blessed to have melt-in-your-mouth veal in a little village in Switzerland. Yep! It's been a good ride so far!

Last winter we purchased a great picture of us. Our church was having a directory made and each family got one free portrait. We went to the sitting with full intentions to NOT purchase the "Package". After the sitting the salesperson went through each pose, one by one. Dutifully we selected our favorite poses of each other. She put all 3 shots in a frame which looked lovely, but we weren't wavering. I really loved Larry's picture. He really liked mine. But we didn't waver!

"When were you married?" she asked. Jokingly we admitted that we'd almost made it 40 years. Voila! 3 pictures of us captioned "Celebrating 40 Years Together-2011". We looked at each other. We were beaten by a good sales person! The portrait looks great in our entry hall.

The years have been good, and we've been lucky. No set back was too severe to handle, and the adventures were fun. Best of all we raised two phenomenal daughters who married two really cool guys and they all gave us 3 fantastic grandkids. OK, I know I'm bragging here, but hey, it's my blog! And it's been 40 years in the making.