Milestones

It's our third wedding anniversary!

Anniversaries of any kind cause me to ponder the past and there is a lot to ponder this year. There's the good, the not so good and there's the out and out really bad that turned out to be good in the end after all was said and done.

It's a little bit of a blur but here are some of the year's highlights...

• We hatched a plan to start an antiques business on our honeymoon and then last year while on summer vacation we hatched a new plan to rent space at the antique mall. We'll be there one year in August.

• We finally started going to the gym.

• We spent Christmas day in our own home for the first time since we got together almost six years ago. It was a sweet, cozy, peaceful time.

• We had a lovely time in Florida in January visiting my mom, sister and brother.
  

• Ken was laid off in May 2009. After receiving both condolences and congratulations, and with the wisdom of one year's hindsight I think this event may have officially passed from the really, really bad column to the "thank-heavens-that-happened when it did" category.

• We met whole host of wonderful new folks this year, especially in the world of antiques. We are grateful everyday for their friendship and their mentoring. They are so good to us. We can't wait to see what the future brings from being a part of this amazing community of people.

We're a wee bit older and a tad bit rounder
(but we're working on that...)

Here's hoping we're a little bit wiser as well.

I was thinking about the vows I made three years ago and this year I decided to add a few new ones. I wrote them out for Ken in the card I gave him this morning.

• I promise to be your faithful and loving partner, to cherish and delight in your spirit, to respect our differences and face life's challenges with patience, humor and compassion.

• I promise never to sneak any gluten into your food, to share the TV remote every now and then and to let you drive when you really want to.

• If you ever want four more kittens and two dogs I promise to pet and love them and make you think it was my idea in the first place.

• I promise to let you bid at auction more often and to indulge in fries and pie only at the Antiquer.

• I will try to make you proud of me each day, to never take for granted the gift that is your love and to allow you to pick up the pieces of me when I've fallen completely apart.
  

• This commitment is made in love, kept in faith and lived eternally new each day.

I like this tradition. You probably figured this out, but the first and last vows were the ones we actually made at our wedding.

Is it time for cake yet?