Today we have been married a year. Well, actually we have been married 47 years but only one to each other. A few days ago someone asked me how we were going to celebrate our first anniversary. Though both Weber and I aware of the significance of this day, neither of us had any notion that it would take on an extra-ordinary feel. After I was asked how we were planning to observe our special day and after I had to reply with the truth, that we had no special plans, I started pondering whether this was a good thing or a bad thing.
TV shows, movies, and comic strips find much material in the husband who forgets his anniversary. The opposite is the couple who plans an expensive getaway to some exotic location hoping for some fairy take adventure. I will admit that I don’t want to be the wife whose husband forgets our anniversary, but is some extreme celebration, particularly on your first anniversary, really necessary. Maybe my attitudes are coming from the fact that I am nearly 50 and not 20 something or maybe they are coming from the place where I feel loved every day and don’t need one day a year of ceremonial gestures to remind me of that. I don’t know. I do know that however we spend our day it will be perfect.
So what did we do?
We slept late and did not go to church. This was not some gift to ourselves. It had to do with the fact that the dog felt called to go outside every hour from about 12;30am to 7 am. Needless to say, when the alarm went off at 7:15 there was very little discussion about whether we were going to get up.
We went out to breakfast at one of our favorite gourmet restaurants - Waffle House. This really was a treat. At Waffle House you can get a fried egg. It takes a cooktop to fry an egg, or anything else for that matter. We still don’t have a cooktop. Well, we do but it is in the box. In fact, we just paid for the extended warranty just in case it doesn’t work when we finally get it installed.
Then we went grocery shopping at Central Market. Celebrating this way is a family tradition. The one thing that Brooke wanted for her 18th birthday was unlimited time and unlimited spending at Central Market. Her wish was granted. We had neither unlimited time nor unlimited spending but we did have fun. I think we experienced the same feelings of joy on our special day as Brooke did on her monumental birthday.
Coincidentally the Resounding Harmony end of the season/beginning of the new season party was today. In some ways this was a perfect way for us to celebrate our first year of married life. RH is the first thing that we decided to do together after we were married. It is the only group that has known me only as married to Weber. I did not have to transition through the name change thing. It is the one place where we have a completely clean slate. For this reason, nobody at the party this evening knew that today is our first anniversary, but we did. And we were able to enjoy our time together with new friends pretending that the party was being thrown on our behalf.
When we got home I prepared for school and did the laundry. It was like any other evening. And like every other evening I give thanks that I have someone whom I deeply love to share my life. Each day that we fall asleep and wake up together, share a cup of coffee and work the crossword puzzle, stroll through the grocery store discussing whether we should buy Gala or Fuji apples, fold a basket of laundry together, or take turns sweeping the never ending wads of dog hair is a day of celebration. What more can a person ask for?
Our wedding day was an amazing day but life keeps getting better!
