Our Ten-Year Anniversary

My husband and I don't get out very much.  In fact, well, we don't get out at all.  However...ten years together calls for something more than just a "Happy Anniversary" card and some flowers.  Ten years is a milestone...not only have we tolerated each other for an entire decade, but we have been together through job changes, moves, financial pitfalls, sending children off to kindergarten...and high school, complicated pregnancies, twins, and life with five children.  This was a moment worth celebrating.  We enlisted the help of my sister-in-law, who was kind enough to come out and spend the night at our house so that my husband and I could spend the night at a hotel.  And so the adventure began.

We dressed up for the evening.  I don't remember the last time I wore a dress...I think it might have been for someone's wedding.  I think that was also the last time I wore make-up.  The latter was confirmed by my 5-year-old's comment, "Mom...that lipstick makes it look like your skin is coming off."  I'm not exactly sure what that meant...did it look like my lip was bleeding?  Did I pick a color that only zombies wear?  I checked the bottom of my lipstick tube and after confirming that the color was not Flesh of the Undead, and my lips did not look bloody, I decided that my child was just not used to my lips being an actual color. 

We took off to find a movie (planners we are not.)  We reached the theater in enough time to catch the movie, Arthur.  I did not have high expectations...but when your choices are children's movies (I was determined to see an adult movie for once) and movies you have never heard of, you go with what looks vaguely familiar and has the potential for a few good laughs.  We were pleasantly surprised to find out that this movie was not only hilarious, but actually had some decent acting as well.  (Yes, I believe I just did a plug for that movie...but seriously...you should go see it.) 

We then consulted, you guessed it, the GPS, to locate the hotel.  This actually took less time than it did to find the theater, and I was not about to complain about the method of getting there...the important thing was that we were without children for an entire evening.  We checked in and went to the restaurant in the hotel.  This way we could have drinks with dinner and not have to drive anywhere.  As it turned out, the hotel restaurant was not very busy.  In fact, outside of one other couple...we were the only patrons.  Our waitress, with not much to do, was very attentive.  She encouraged us to have more drinks...it was our anniversary!  She made a very valid point...I mean, how often would we be able to let loose and not worry about the consequences?  We had some more drinks.  Bruce ordered a Long Island Iced Tea.  I stuck with my wine. 

Bruce, feeling the effects of his drinks, excused himself to find the restroom.  On the way there he ran into a group of Red Hat ladies.  Being the drunk gentleman he was, he complimented them on how nice they looked that evening.  One of the ladies quickly told him that he looked pretty good himself.  Another lady admonished the first, but the first replied, "well, he does!" 

I'm not sure how my husband felt about being hit on by a woman as old as his grandmother, but being slightly buzzed myself I thought it was the funniest thing I had ever heard.

After deciding that (even though we couldn't finish our abnormally large portioned dinners) we absolutely had to have dessert, we decided to head out because we were supposed to have a bottle of champagne waiting for us.  However, in our current state of happiness we were distracted by the escalator and the desire to explore what might be at the top.  There was a wedding reception going on...and by this time most of the guests were quite happy...and unaware of their surroundings.  There was an ice sculpture there...and one man walked up to it and licked it...turned to us...and told us it was, indeed, made of ice.  This is when we knew that no one would notice that we did not, in fact, belong there.  We got in line at the bar and ordered two Rum and Cokes.  The bartender filled the glass 3/4 full of Rum...and added a splash of Coke on the top, and handed them to us.  We walked over to the dance floor and watched the people trying to dance, commenting on each person's style of drunken dancing.  Then Bruce turned to me and said, "it's too bad we didn't just come here sooner...we could have had all of our drinks for free!" 

Needless to say, after the very strong wedding reception drink, and then half a bottle of champagne that was delivered to our room...we slept quite soundly that night.  My poor husband needed some assistance getting tucked into bed...and lifted up to drink water.  The following morning he groaned in a voice that sounded like the undead, "water....waaaater."  I half considered putting my lipstick on him and making him repeat it...but I was nice.

He surprised me that weekend by fixing my wedding ring that had been broken for over a year...it had been sitting in my jewelry box. 

While my weekend could probably be summed up by two movie titles, Wedding Crashers and The Hangover...I have to say it was quite enjoyable.  It also reminded me that while the last ten years have certainly made us older, wiser, and quite a bit more stressed...they have also made us realize just how much we do still love each other.  Hopefully in another ten years we will be just as much in love...and crazy enough to crash a wedding.  Who am I kidding...the chaos in this house times the rate of perceived stress multiplied by ten...we'll probably do something much more crazy.