Today I venture away from our normal workers’ compensation / employment risk theme for a personal notation. Please forgive the unexpected variance.
You see, today is our 24th wedding anniversary. Although, to be honest, if you were to speak to my wife, she would tell you we have been together for 31 years and she “wants credit for time served.” I’m not certain what she means by that. I am, as you know, a pure delight to be around.
My wife and I were married on Armed Forces Day, May 17, 1997. We felt it to be an appropriate designation and have made every attempt to live up to that honor. This year, Armed Forces Day fell on Saturday May 15th, so we had to start celebrating our anniversary early. After all, you never want to let an Armed Forces Day go to waste.
We have over the years generally eschewed the traditional and expected anniversary gifts. This was especially true after the first year, when the traditional gift was something made of paper. My Scottish heritage recognized that these traditional expectations became incrementally more expensive as the years ground on. They eventually become items such as gold, jade, and diamonds. Although, I note that Hallmark says for the 53rdanniversary the gift should be plastic. I assume someone is getting a new hip that year. Instead of following this tradition, my wife and I normally buy something together for our home. This year was no different.
Well, it was a little different. This year we each bought the other something for the house.
We were out shopping this weekend at a pottery store when my wife came across a small terra cotta statue of a cat. She really liked it, so I offered to buy it for our anniversary. This worked out well, as two weeks ago she bought me a car for our garage. It was an equitable arrangement, and in line with our tradition of getting an anniversary gift for the house.
It can be noted that the traditional gift for the 11th anniversary is steel, so perhaps my wife was being traditional, but just 13 years late. Unfortunately, I cannot find “Terra Cotta” on the list, so I may be in trouble there. It turns out the 24th anniversary gift is stone, and I suppose terra cotta is kind of like stone – as long as you don’t drop it or bump it into anything. I did note that the 39th anniversary gift is “Laughter,” so I’ll be all over that one in 15 years. I am quite the humorous fellow. Trust me, my wife laughs all day long. On the inside. I just know it.
I just wanted to take a moment to wish my wife a very happy anniversary and to publicly say I love her. Armed Forces Day be damned, I would do it all over in a nanosecond. Too bad she doesn’t read my blog. It would be even more special.