365 Blissful days of marriage, and counting...

What is an anniversary? My idea has always been a blissful romantic holiday for the two sharing it, usually filled with lots of romance, tokens of love and affection, relaxation and time with one another, and lots of lingerie. Well, never having experienced an anniversary before - this is what I wanted, and I was going to make it happen...of course because In my various blog stalking adventures - I admit it! - I have read a many delightful tale about the anniversaries celebrated and the festivities in which the participants partook. I was not going to be left out of the ultra-cool-I envy your life because of your blog- crowd. I wanted to post a story that would make all other stalkers and non-alike that happen upon my blog to be envious of my fabulous holiday and be jealous of how much my husband and I are in love. BARF! Who am I kidding!? Seriously!? Who has a life that effing perfect? First of all, James and I are real, and our lives aren't perfect, and sometimes...things don't always work out as they are planned...Here is our anniversary story, in its real, raw form.

In the previous months leading up to our first anniversary, I had vast fantasies and plans of what it would be like...James and I taking off on a romantic getaway weekend to somewhere exotic, leaving our cellphones and dog behind only to be in each others' arms only to be interrupted by our indulgence in room service and spa treatments. Or, showering each other with unexpected gifts of high sparkle and great value (get my drift?) and then taking off on our romantic rendezvous. While all of these ideas have been joyously swirling in my head, James and I had talked many times about our anniversary "plans." While I am wise enough to know that spending thousands on our anniversary just before the holidays isn't so great for our budget, we decided on something more simple. (So we can take that great trip in December...) So, we decided he would take the day off and we would dedicate our day to one another, spend time with each other - eat good food, enjoy each others' company, and go shopping for something for our house - something that will always remind us of our first anniversary and how we spent it together. To be completely honest, I was 100% happy with that idea. I am a simple girl who likes to make things complicated sometimes, but for the most part, I am easily pleased. So, we decided to have dinner at the same restaurant we did on our first date - The Melting Pot - the night before, so we would have all of the next day (our anniversary) together. This was our plan. THIS WAS OUR PLAN....

The whole week leading up to our anniversary, I decided to get a disease which kept me in bed for two days straight, and has kept me congested, coughing, dim, and slow ever since. I was saving all of my energy for that fateful day when we could celebrate our nuptials. The day came, and James woke up with a back injury of sorts. A completely debilitating muscle cramp that took all of the life out of him. He popped some pills and we headed off to dinner - determined to have a good time. We did have a good time. We enjoyed our meal thoroughly, we laughed, we reminisced about the past year and all we learned and loved. I was having a good hair night, which I was particularly proud of (thank you, Marie!) and James, well, he couldn't drive because he can't move so well, he walked funny and stooped over to minimize his pain, and he looked like he was in excruciating pain, as you can see from the pictures. We still had a great time...my favorite part was when we sang Christmas carols on the way home.

As you can see, we did enjoy our meal...it was amazing, as always!

James was sure that he would be able to sleep off his pain and we would be good to go in the morning. WELLL...that didn't happen. But he gets points for trying. James woke up in greater pain and me - well, I was hacking up a lung left and right. We both decided to make the best of it and move forward with our plans. We had breakfast - mostly in silence, due to both of us not feeling well and trying not to bite one another's head off. Then we headed up to Salt Lake to see the Body Worlds exhibit which I have been wanting to see since it was in Phoenix a year and a half ago. We went through that and then decided that it was time to go home. I could tell James was in so much pain. I felt really bad for him, but he insisted that he was fine. Well, Mr. Grumpy pants, "fine" is my word. I invented "fine." I understand the language and meaning of "fine," and let me tell you "fine" does not mean that you are ok, great, hunky dory, or peachy keen. "Fine" means "shut up and stop asking me how I am...I am not fine, I am not ok, and I want to punch you in the teeth." So, we're driving down the freeway, James upset at me for Googling on my phone while driving, but I had to find a chiropractor that could fix this mess. Fortunately, the one I called was able to get us in. We raced to Provo, and into the Dr.'s Office. James at this point was really not "fine" with being there, because had I listened before...he was "FINE" and didn't need to see a doctor. I didn't care. I was in control. This was our perfect romantic togetherness lovey dovey day and I was going to fix it! I was going to make it right...and he was not going to be hurt anymore so we could continue or celebration of our love. Well we spent the next four hours in the Dr.'s Office, and most of my time was spent looking at this:

James with electrodes and ice on his back. The people at this office were super nice. Freakishly nice. They were so nice I think they were on some sort of drug. Whatever it was, I want some, STAT. We finished up after another hour of physical therapy and were on our way home. Tired, sore, hacking, congested, snotty, and bummed...we headed home. Maybe tomorrow will be better? Nope. Both of us were laid up - me, sick as a dog - him, still unable to move. Today, being Monday, I look back on it all and now am able to laugh. Yes, I realized something very important that fateful day: It doesn't matter where you are or what you are doing, but if you love the person you are with, it will always be fun. Now, not that any of this was necessarily fun, but there isn't anyone I would rather have done it with than James. He is the best man in the world - the best man for me, and no romantic getaway or gift can ever change that or make it more true. I don't need all of that extravagance to say "I love you." He knows it, and I know it. That is what matters. So, I wouldn't say our anniversary was horrible, it was just normal. Things like this happen every day and it just happened to be on our day. No big deal. Next year there better be a damn parade in our honor!