January 24, 2015
Today I’m reflecting on 18 years of marriage, because my
anniversary is coming up and I’ll have been married, yep you guessed it, 18
years. I was thinking about 18 years,
and what we should do to celebrate. 18
years is no joke. Think of it this way,
think of when you celebrated your 18-year birth anniversary. Birth to 18 years old is a long time! Or what if you were on a deserted island for 18
years. You would have the craziest Swiss
Family Robinson house imaginable. And
you would be best friends with the tigers, and lions, and don’t even try to
make friends with those laughing hyenas.
I wouldn’t trust them with a ten-foot pole. Or what if you went to college for 18
years. You would have the best degree in
history. You’d probably be, like, the
Wizard of Oz, not including the part where he ends up being a total fraud. You
get my point. 18 years is special. And I
need some good celebrating ideas for this special occasion. I will admit that I love to celebrate. If
there’s a holiday to celebrate, I will celebrate it. Except today, which happens to be National
Opposite Day and I’m not celebrating
that because my kids like to declare “Opposite Day,” and then play that game,
and I’m not good at it. They’re like,
“Mom, it’s ‘Opposite Day’” and then they start saying stuff, and I’m like, “I
don’t play ‘Opposite Day’ because it’s too confusing! Do you like me or don’t you? Am I the best mom or aren’t I? When you said that my outfit is weird just
now were you remembering that it’s ‘opposite day’ or did you forget?” It’s just too confusing, and I’m not about to
tell my kids that today is actually National
Opposite Day. No thank you! Today, I’m a party pooper. But Tuesday is National Chocolate Cake Day!! And that’s when my party hat comes on! Am I right or am I right? Who was the genius that decided to declare a National Chocolate Cake Day? They
probably have 18 years of college under their belt.
So back to me plans for the wedding anniversary. I said “me plans” on purpose, because
occasionally, I like to sound Irish.
Everyone loves an Irish accent. And
everyone loves Darby O’Gil and The Little People, and if you don’t then you
must be from Mars, or you’ve watched it again as an adult and realize that it
is actually kind of cheesy and not as cool as when you were little, so scratch
that “Mars” line. So anyway, I
discovered that Saturday, which is my actual wedding anniversary, is National
Inspire Your Heart with Art Day. So I’m
wanting to do an art project for me hubby (this time when I said, “me hubby” I
was doing it in a pirate accent and not an Irish accent. Stick with me, I’ll
keep you on your toes). In the past few
years I’ve been dabbling in art. I’m no
Picaso or Michaelangelo (heh heh, get it? I’m not as good as famous painters,
heh heh!), but I can sketch a decent picture.
I even bought a book that teaches you how to draw and I used to draw
with me kids (that’s Scottish). Anyway,
before Saturday I’m going to try to sketch my husband and we'll see what kind of stick figure picture I can come up with. And although it may only be a simple drawing, that stick figure will have muscles and a charming smile, and a word bubble with a positive comment inside, because he says a lot of positive things, like, "You can do it!" and "Go for it!" and "Hey Honey, I brought you some chocolate from my trip!" and "You can finish my dessert, I'm stuffed" and "Hey are there anymore brownies? I was really hoping to have one. Oh, there aren't? They've all been eaten? Okay, no worries!"
I also found out that the traditional gift for the 18-year anniversary is porcelain. Unfortunately, my husband doesn’t talk about porcelain a lot, so I don’t think it’s on his wish list. However, we have two porcelain dolls that I’ve got stored away, and keep considering taking to the Goodwill. Maybe instead of taking them to the Goodwill, I’ll wrap them up and present them to him. I can personalize them by pinning badges on their dresses that say nice compliments about him. Maybe I’ll have them hold signs that say, “You rock!” or “You’re a hunk!” Is that weird to have dolls in old-fashioned clothes say those lines? Maybe they should say something less modern, like, “I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of any thing than of a book! -- When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library” (Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice). And the other doll could be holding a sign that says, “The Very first moment I beheld him, my heart was irrevocably gone” (Jane Austen, Love and Friendship). After 18 years, definitely the latter quote is more fitting:).
I also found out that the traditional gift for the 18-year anniversary is porcelain. Unfortunately, my husband doesn’t talk about porcelain a lot, so I don’t think it’s on his wish list. However, we have two porcelain dolls that I’ve got stored away, and keep considering taking to the Goodwill. Maybe instead of taking them to the Goodwill, I’ll wrap them up and present them to him. I can personalize them by pinning badges on their dresses that say nice compliments about him. Maybe I’ll have them hold signs that say, “You rock!” or “You’re a hunk!” Is that weird to have dolls in old-fashioned clothes say those lines? Maybe they should say something less modern, like, “I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of any thing than of a book! -- When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library” (Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice). And the other doll could be holding a sign that says, “The Very first moment I beheld him, my heart was irrevocably gone” (Jane Austen, Love and Friendship). After 18 years, definitely the latter quote is more fitting:).
