Happy Anniversary

Today is our wedding anniversary. Seventeen years of marriage. Nineteen years of togetherness. Hubby says some days it seems longer than that. He's a funny man. That's part of why I love him. I am attracted to his humor, his kindness, his gentleness and his physical form. They say opposites attract, and in our case that's true. We are very different.

As the song says, he's a little bit country. I'm a little bit rock n' roll. He's a little bit of Memphis and Nashville. I have a whole lot of Motown in my soul. He wants symetry. I like uneven edges. He wants white walls. I like color. I like to live for the moment. He doesn't. I'm a dancer. He's not, unless there's a little bit of liquid courage involved. He frets and worries about everything. I don't worry until I see flames or get a call from law enforcement. He's an early riser and bounces out of bed as a "Ready Teddy", as he likes to say. I, on the other hand, have to be pulled out of the covers with a pry bar and sheilded from light until I've slugged around the house for twenty minutes. I'm the liberal in this family, and he's the conservative. I'm telling you, we could not be more different. This created some tension early on in our relationship, especially when I realized he alphabetized his canned goods. I discovered this when he admonished me for putting the "C"orn next to the "T"apioca pudding. I laughed because I thought he was joking. He wasn't and at that moment, I had my doubts our relationship would survive, but it did.

Our relationship has been unique from the beginning. Not only are we very different, he is a decade older than me. Even the way we met was kind of odd. We met during a murder trial. Romantic isn't it? I was a reporter, and he was a parole officer. I kept seeing him at the courthouse during the trial. We made googly eyes at each other for several days, until the court reporter, acting as a go-between, finally relayed our interest in one another. He was kind of shy though, and I got tired of waiting for him to ask me out, so I called him up and asked him for a date. Did I mention I'm assertive and he's not? He went, and we have been together ever since. It's been a great nineteen years. Difficult at times, but great. Our differences keep things interesting. I have worked that alphabetized canned good thing out of his system, thank God.

In true "married for a long time fashion" our plans for today include an exciting wait for our new refrigerator to be delivered. That big truck from Lowes should be here any time. Hubby will spend the morning hooking up the water line. I will wash three loads of laundry and drop his mother off at the beautiful shop. Those of you who are single or newlyweds will think that's incredibly boring. Those of you who have waded through marriage for several years will nod your head in approval and understand our excitement about a new refrigerator. Don't worry. We have planned a dinner and a concert to celebrate in a couple of weeks. The timing for a romantic dinner just didn't work out this weekend. Those of you married for a while understand that, too.