Tuesday, December 11, 2007

31st Anniversary

Celebrating today! 31 years with tall, dark and handsome. He came home with roses and a beautiful Waterman fountain pen I had been eyeing. We will go out to a " tablecloth place" for dinner tonight. Our anniversary and my birthday in three days, always get rushed because of holiday festivities. Tomorrow there is a party we'll be attending. When I was 40 my husband arranged for a birthday cake to surprise me at a Christmas party and I had a birthday party when I turned 16. That's OK with me though, I would probably have a heart attack from the shock of another. Likewise, I just now realized that my husband, whose birthday is January 5th has had pretty much the same fate. Where is this going?



Hmmmmmm.......Both our children have had birthday parties. When our daughter was around eleven and every year after, she declared that her birthdays were "no big thing". I continued to make them big things though. That year she insisted that she didn't want a cake, so I decorated cupcakes and had a few of her friends over. She scowled the whole time. Then she left home and her birthday became a REAL big thing!

I just realized that I tried to make up for, with my kids, what I didn't get as a child. We were very, very poor and Christmas gifts were never much. When I was in the third grade we rented a small house from, and next door to "Bull and Aunty" who were very, very not poor. At Christmas, gifts for their four grandkids were stacked to the ceiling around their angel hair smoothered tree, most of which I had helped wrap. So, with my own kids, I really went over the top, though my husband always declared, "Too much".

For most of my life I wanted something other than what I had. Granted, I started out life with a lot of reasons to feel that way. Even when there were no more reasons, I looked for or imagined them. I still have my moments. I have made a major switch in my thinking that I wish had'nt taken so long. LIFE IS A GOOD THING!

9 comments:

  1. Happy Anniversary! And Birthday.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think my feelings of being left out at Christmas have carried over into my adulthood. No matter how great it is, I still tend to feel disappointed and unloved. I have been making an effort to get over it in the last couple of years. Fake it till I make it is the technique I am trying. This Christmas I am over the top trying to make it. Sometimes I forget I am faking it.

    Congrats on 31 years that is wonderful. I am hoping you have at least another 31 years.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am the same with my kids. I always overdo it at xmas, or birthdays...etc

    Like you, I didn't have that growing up so I feel justified.

    Time will tell if I'm doing more harm than good.

    In the meantime, Happy Anniversary :-)

    Michelle

    ReplyDelete
  4. Happy anniversary! And happy birthday for Friday. Since reaching 30 years I've appreciated each anniversary more and more. We don't go in for huge celebrations any more though - birthdays and anniversaries are quite low-key in this house.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Happy belated anniversary! I'm glad life is good for you.

    ReplyDelete
  6. meno-both events were exceptional! Thanks.

    marsha-I think the important thing is to realize things like why we are unreasonable about things. Then we can begin to work towards new and improved. We have to live life for as long as we do, so why not do it as pleasantly as possible? Thanks for the good wishes!

    i.a.m.l.-I wish I had done it differently. Maybe you still have a chance to do it differently? Thanks!

    z-We had a lovely anniversary dinner at one of our favorite restuarants. I started with crab stuffed mushrooms baked in an incredibly delicious lobster sauce and my TDAHH (tall, dark and handsome husband) had french onion soup, followed by a lovely salad each. We would both have been content had we stopped here. But, alas and alack we had both ordered sirloin steaks with sauteed mushrooms and onions in a delectible sauce. It was served with garlic mashed potatoes, impaled with a sprig of rosemary and zuccini (spell?) squash. We both ate less than half of our steaks and none of the squash. TDAHH, being a man, ate all of his mashed potatoes, but I brought most of mine home with the other half of our steaks. Since we recently cleared some air between us, this was an especially pleasant evening.

    atavist-thanks for the thought. It's what counts. I've been telling myself that I should give your blog some attention. Soon!!! Remember, it's the thought.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Aww, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! Sounds like it was nice. :)

    And I laugh about you making birthdays a big deal for your kids...I so get that! Birthdays were mostly pretty crappy for me and my little brothers, so now I tend to overdo it for my kids. But I think, even if she petended not to like it, I bet that youdid that will always mean so much to her. ;) A good mom move, I say.

    :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Eh! That "K to the H" is me, Amber at Believing Soul. I didn't knwo I was logged in under Kory! Dang.

    :)

    ReplyDelete

A pony for your thoughts.