This past weekend was my 1st wedding anniversary; Kelli and I have been married for twelve months now. In the grand scheme of things, that's not a lot, but it is a successful start to the years that will follow. Personally, I'm rooting for 49 more. We'll see; God holds the cards on that one.

I actually put together some fun plans to celebrate this weekend. On Saturday, I was prepared to surprise Kelli and take her on an old-fashioned picnic. She said she wanted to go somewhere (away from Brillion), and previous plans to spend time up in Door County hadn't worked out. So my idea was to put together picnic gear and head east to the shore of Lake Michigan. Manitowoc's Silver Lake Park seemed like a scenic spot. Plus, it was close-to-home, yet along the same beautiful water that borders Door County to the north.

Unfortunately, a number of factors got in the way. Kelli wasn't feeling up to a picnic, it was a warm muggy day, and, as we later found out, it was raining when we would have been laying out on the grass. So, we ended up going out to eat at Red Lobster instead, which was just as enjoyable. Lobster is a treat in our corner of the world. We might still try the picnic idea later in the week -- just for the fun of it.

On Sunday, I treated Kelli to another meal out -- this time, as originally planned. We went to Olive Garden, and enjoyed a tasty Italian dinner. Afterwards, I had planned for us to return home, crack open a bottle of wine, and cuddle on the couch while watching a romantic movie. As it turned out, though, we ended up doing a little shopping at Barnes and Noble, and then went to the movie theater to see "Kung Fu Panda 2" instead. Not quite as romantic as I had hoped, but still well worth the change in plans. Good movie too. Maybe even better than the first.

As I've been told, Kelli and I will probably follow up on the wine and romantic movie idea later in the week as well. It just won't be an anniversary thing.

I also got Kelli some chocolates. She likes chocolates. Unfortunately (as should probably have been expected), I couldn't find her the romantic collection that I wanted -- stores around here just don't seem to carry that sort of thing. So I compromised, and got her some of her favorites -- that the store did have. Not quite the same thing. But, it's the thought that counts.

In the end, my anniversary plans didn't quite work out as I had hoped, but it still turned out to be a wonderful date weekend nonetheless. I like to be creative with my romance ideas, even if things change at the last minute. I did arrange, though, to have a dozen red roses delivered to Kelli on Saturday morning. She really liked that. For months she'd been commenting that I never got her flowers. But I had good reason. I wanted to surprise her this weekend. And, I think I did. She's drying one of the roses as we speak -- to save it's beauty indefinitely.

Now that it's Monday (July 11th), the weekend is over, and a new year of marriage begins. I don't know what's in store for the two of us in the NEXT twelve months, but I do know this: I have an amazing wife, and if year two is anything like year one... it'll be a wonderful, exciting, always-learning-something-new adventure -- the kind that keeps you on your toes, but yet always finds a way to fascinate. It's usually full of unexpected moments, but it's ALWAYS memorable!

And memories are what bring people closer together.

So... here's to year two. The unknown continues. Let's see what awaits!

-Jon
posted by Jon at 7:32 PM  I   I  2 comments