Humor, Life, Marriage

14

Writer McWriterson

Today is our 14th wedding anniversary;  it’s not really a “monumental” anniversary, but any anniversary you can celebrate is monumental and I think now more than ever, we realize this.

We’ve been together almost 18 years this October, but dating is always the easier part of the relationship, so those years almost don’t count, do they?

Mike has to work today, so I plan on going for a walk with the dog, doing homeschool, maybe a couple of loads of laundry, might get takeout for dinner because it is a special day even though it just feels like another day.

But on Sunday and Tuesday (his days off), we celebrated in our own way.

We went for a walk along Lake Michigan.

We took down the trampoline that had been in this exact spot for almost six years and gave it to our neighbors who have smaller kids. We decided that since this summer meant more time at home, that we would create a social distancing style fire pit.

See that fence? It might become a drop-down bar with our neighbors.

We went on a date night picnic to one of our favorite towns. Curbside pickup pizza from a favorite restaurant, followed by a picnic in a nearby park. We listened to our favorite music on my phone, heard laughter from the nearby tennis courts, and people-watched other folks walking, being outside, and enjoying the delicious simple things.

Selfie in front of one of our many dream homes

We walked through the streets of our favorite small town, many of which had very expensive homes that we could never afford, but we fantasized aloud about how how much fun it would be to live here and be able to walk to so many of the places we enjoy visiting.

Brick walls, sigh 
Let’s go
Ice cream sundaes

The only thing different about visiting our favorite little town were the masks and the absence of people out and about, but we made a remark about how pleasant it was having the town to ourselves. It made for a lovely date night. Coronavirus-edition.

When I was looking for a picnic blanket, I came across a box of our wedding items in the basement and looked through it for the first time in years. It was a lot of fun looking through the items I planned for our wedding such as magazine articles, an extra boutonniere, and response cards for who came and who didn’t.

Ellie tried on the bridal shoes I purchased from Target. I was excited to find wedding shoes that were both comfortable and affordable because, let’s be honest, they were completely off my feet by the first dance.

She also tried on my wedding dress, which was bought at a local dress shop for under $200.

I didn’t care how much the dress or the shoes cost since I was so excited to marry this man. My dress was never cleaned, so when I took it out of the garment bag, it had remnants of lipstick, cake, and beer spilled on it from hugs and kisses from my friends and family.

Sigh.

Hugs and kisses. 

How he really feels about the walks

We went for a long walk yesterday near the Chicago River. He often jokes about being dragged on these soul-saving treks, but he secretly enjoys them. He gets to spend time with me, after all. What’s not to love?

As the kids become older, we spend more of our spare time alone, and I realize how much I love this man and how much he loves me. It used to scare the shit out of me to think about life without the kids. They’ve become such an integral part of our relationship that I used to worry about how we’d be as a couple as they grew older and further away from us.

I’m realizing that I like him and he likes me. There is no one I would prefer to spend the rest of my life with.

I am so glad he is on my side, for better or worse, sweaty walks and all.

26 thoughts on “14”

  2. Happy anniversary! We celebrated 19 years this week but it might be a bit awful to admit we didn’t do anything to celebrate. We figure we’ll do it up big next year when we can (hopefully!) travel somewhere… I’m thinking Florida keys or the Virgin Islands…

    Love that fire pit area; it’s awesome!

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  4. Happy anniversary to you both! I love how you’ve spent your time together; just perfect. That fire pit looks so pretty and your family is going to have so much fun and make even more memories there; bravo!!
    Laughing at him shooting you a bird; true love baby!
    Also, even though we’ve not met, I love you and your family. XO

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  5. Happy Anniversary! Coach cannot do my usual walking path. He bales halfway.

    Cute pics. Love looking at dreamy houses and I’ve been thinking of driving to a different, swankier neighborhood to just to change it up and admire other houses. Your fire pit area turned out great.

    So happy for you that you have a great guy to spend time with. I remember feeling similarly, what will we do when the kids are grown? Nowadays I feel like we make a good team – whether kids are underfoot or not.

    Enjoy!

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  9. Happy anniversary, you two love birds! Even though you didn’t get to celebrate by going out to a nice dinner, at least you did something fun together. I actually think that getting take out and going to a park sounds more fun (and romantic)! May you be blessed with many more years together. xoxo

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  11. What a sweet post to commemorate your day! It looks like you had a great time in a way that was meaningful for you. All anniversaries should be celebrated with ice cream sundaes. New rule.

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  12. Hey, we’re anniversary twins! My husband and I also got married on May 27, 2006. We didn’t plan anything special (as much as one can plan for COVIDversaries). We talked about music we connected to during dating and discussed getting take-out before ultimately deciding on frozen pizza. Fun times.

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  13. A belated happy anniversary! We also love to walk around towns and look at houses. Many of the most beautiful ones (that we’ll never afford, either) are fun to look at–but now when I look at them I also see all the upkeep. I love being able to enjoy them the way we do, then go home to my own little house that’s so much easier (and less expensive) to care for!

    And I’m going to second that bit about life after kids. Got a little taste of it this spring, and…it was really nice. Both our girls were supposed to be in different cities this summer and now they are both here, so that’s come to an end. But it’s something to look forward to. Best friends are the best, aren’t they?

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