26 Years – 98

It’s my 26th wedding anniversary today, March 23, 2011.

Outside it is gray, overcast and rainy, very much like the day I was married. I’ve heard that rain on your wedding day is supposed to be good luck, but I have a sneaking suspicion that was made up by a bride who was trying to be optimistic about her rainy wedding day. Who wouldn’t? Whatever the case, it was raining the day I got married and it’s 26 years later. I’m not one to argue the validity of rain being lucky.

For my anniversary present, I told Hubby that I wanted to go to a restaurant called The Melting Pot. Hubby isn’t a fan of this chain because they charge a rather exorbitant amount of money for food you have to cook yourself. (it’s a fondue place) I view it as a leisurely meal that requires conversation with no smart-phone interference. I’m not sure if he’s going to be able to withstand the lack of a technical communication device in his hands for longer than mere moments, but we’re going to try it and see if he can survive.

I’m betting he finds at least ONE thing his wants to tweet to the world. Bet you.

I called and put a reservation in for a quiet corner of the restaurant to celebrate. When the gentleman on the phone asked what the occasion was, and I told him, he was genuinely shocked. This is almost surreal to me in many ways. First, it certainly does NOT feel like I’ve been married for this long. 26 years sounds like a long time and seems to carry such weight when you say it, but the reality of the time with Hubby has been like a blip on our radar screen.  Sure we have lots of memories, 4 grown children and 4 grandchildren (so far), but again, to us it’s just …..right, I guess.

Last weekend, I was building some furniture I bought for the basement. It’s not the best quality, but the price was right and it’ll look good for staging the house for sale. Hubby had been doing other chores, but stopped when he found me working on a coffee table. He grabbed a screwdriver, held some pieces and tightened some bolts and then looked at me and said, “This makes me feel like I’m 19 again and we are just starting out.”  I thought about it for a minute and said, “But we are just starting out again. It’s just us this time.”  Such an odd concept, but not an unappealing one.