Anniversary sop

June 1st was our 16^th anniversary. Our marriage is old enough drive, as a friend pointed out. Although 16 years of marriage doesn't usually merit a party, it does show up on gift lists: according to the gurus of anniversary gifts, appropriate selections are silver hollowware or peridot.  Since neither my husband or I care too much for silver teapots or chafing dishes, we decided to celebrate by going out to dinner.  But here is what happens when you have been married for 16 years: one kid has a drama performance in the afternoon, another has a sports awards banquet in the evening, and one wants to go to the middle school dance, even if his mother insists he can only go if she serves as the chaperone. So you spend the day driving around, and the evening at different kid functions. After the kids are all finally in bed, you fall asleep on the couch after a glass of champagne while watching “Anonymous,” the Shakespeare conspiracy theory movie that suggests the Earl of Oxford wrote all the plays and paid Shakespeare, a bumbling actor, for the use of his name, because of the politics and plots of the day.  I can't tell you exact details, because I slept through a third of the movie, but what I saw was entertaining.

We postponed our date night to Saturday, which my husband pointed out is the first time since we’ve lived here that we have gone out just the two of us.  We’ve left the kids many nights, but usually for a group activity.  Since this was such a momentous occasion, we had trouble deciding where to eat, and actually went to three different restaurants before deciding where to dine.  The food was exceptional, especially the butterfish encrusted with macadamia nuts and garnished with roe and lemongrass.  But it was the kind of place where you have to order Perrier because they don't serve tap water, so we probably won't go there often, if ever again. But there was live music in the lounge, a guy who sounded like Kenny Rogers singing Barry Manilow. Very romantic.

Even though the night of our anniversary wasn’t a particularly notable evening, I still think our marriage lives up to this little poem:

Married in January's roar and rime,Widowed you'll be before your prime 

Married in February's sleepy weather,Life you'll tread in time together 

Married when March winds shrill and roar,Your home will lie on a distant shore  

Married 'neath April's changeful skies,A chequered path before you lies  

Married when bees o'er May blossoms flit,Strangers around your board will sit  

Married in month of roses - June,Life will be one long honeymoon  

Married in July with flowers ablaze,Bitter-sweet memories in after days  

Married in August's heat and drowse,Lover and friend in your chosen spouse  

Married in September's golden glow,Smooth and serene your life will go  

Married when leaves in October thin,Toil and hardships for you begin  

Married in veils of November mist,Fortune your wedding ring has kissed  

Married in days of December's cheer,Love's star shines brighter from year to year. 

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Here’s to being on a lifelong honeymoon!