Humor, Life, Marriage

14

Writer McWriterson

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

Mike has to work today, but we celebrated in our own way on Sunday and Tuesday (his days off).

We went for a walk along Lake Michigan.

We removed the trampoline that had been in this exact spot for nearly six years and gave it to our neighbors with kids who were younger. We decided to make a social distancing style fire pit because we would be spending more time at home this summer.

Do you see that fence? It could turn into a drop-down bar with our neighbors.

We went on a date night picnic to one of our favorite towns. Curbside 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.

Selfie in front of one of our many dream homes

We walked through the streets of our favorite small town and we daydreamed aloud about how much fun it would be to live here and be able to walk to so many of the places we enjoy visiting.

Let’s go
Ice cream sundaes

The only thing different about visiting our favorite town were the masks and the lack of people, but we commented on how nice it was to have the place to ourselves. It was a lovely date night. Coronavirus-edition.

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

Ellie tried on the bridal shoes I bought at Target. I was thrilled to find wedding shoes that were both comfortable and reasonably priced because, let’s face it, they were off my feet by the first dance.

She also tried on my wedding gown, which I purchased for less than $200 at a local dress shop.

Because my dress had never been drycleaned, it had remnants of lipstick, cake, and beer spilled on it from hugs and kisses from my friends and family when I took it out of the garment bag.

Sigh.

Hugs and kisses from loved ones.

Remember those?

How he really feels about the walks

Yesterday, we went for a long walk along the Chicago River. He frequently makes fun of being dragged on these soul-saving journeys, but he secretly enjoys them.

As the kids get older, we spend more time alone, and I realize how much I love this man and how much he loves me. It used to terrify me to consider life without the kids. They’ve become such an important part of our relationship that I used to worry about how we’d be as a couple as they grew older and moved 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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