A Barbecue Celebration

Today is my wedding anniversary. Another year of wedded bliss has passed. Neither of us has killed the other. Now that's worth celebrating! :-)

Alright, I truly am celebrating this historic day. As one who used to hoot at the top of her lungs about how I'd never, ever get married (again) because I'd tried it once and it just wasn't my cup of tea, it's pretty amazing that I not only took the plunge again but we've lasted and been happy while doing so. Turns out, I'm not a commitment-phobe after all. It was the pathological liar I married the first time that put a dent in the Mustang of all life commitments. Luckily, John persevered; he patiently waited me out until my anti-marriage blustering had passed, and here we are today.

So what was our big celebration? Well, I hate to show up all you other couples out there or make you sick over our sugary-sweet sappiness, but we had a weekend full of 11 year old sports games (most of them in the rain) and then today, on the big day, we went all-out romance by going for lunch at a local barbecue joint. Settle down, ladies. He's taken. Get your own husband to whisk you off your feet at a romantic greasy spoon. :-) This will make more sense when you learn we watched a special on TV last night about Atlanta's best barbecue restaurants so naturally, it seemed perfect for today's agenda.

It may not have been wine and roses, but actually, we never go that route to mark a special occasion. After all, roses die and John will take beer over wine any day. Instead, I'll be getting the spa day I'm desperately in need of, and John got another round of golf that he can never get enough of. Tonight, we'll cook our famous chili for dinner since it's a nasty, rainy day, and we'll celebrate in a simple way what I'm grateful we've still got together after all these years: the laughter, the shared likes and dislikes, the ability to look across a room and know exactly what the other is thinking about the conversation and people around us, the knowledge that there's someone else out there that cares if you're late, lost, upset or in need, the halved burdens in life because we shoulder them together, the vacations we enjoy together, the child we're raising who makes us proud, and the simplicity of being loved. That's what I'd have missed if I'd continued my anti-marriage rant. So ironically, I'm most grateful for the patience my not-very-patient husband actually showed in the area it paid off for us both most: waiting me out.

Thanks babe, and Happy Anniversary!