17 Years and 2 Days

Sunday Corey and I celebrated our 17th Wedding Anniversary. 17 Years! That just sounds like so long... but in some ways it seems like yesterday that I walked down that aisle. These 17 years have been much different than I ever imagined that they would be - I think Corey would say the same. I knew when I married him that I would be married "for better or worse"... but I never imagined what that meant exactly. Last night, we went on a date and celebrated that we have made it through 17 years of better and 17 years of worse. 17 years of comitment. 17 years of ups and downs. 17 years of hard work. 17 years of sharing joy and sorrow. 17 years of learning how to live with someone that is almost entirely different from ourselves. 17 years of determination to make a life together - not just any life, but a good life. Together.

We thought that we were not going to get to go out for our anniversary, but at the last moment my mom came to town and offered to watch the kids so we could go on a date.  (Thank you, Mom!!!) We had a great evening together! We went to an English Pub to play trivia (He won the first game, and I won the second. I like to focus on the second. :) ) Then we went to a restaruant that we have not been to before. It was a little Italian place that is in an old house in a nearby town.  It was quaint and different than the places that we seem to eat at regularly.  As we were walking in, I saw that Corey had a gift bag. When I said, "I thought that we agreed that we were not going to exchange gifts." he reminded me that he knows what women really mean when they say that... :) I thought that it was hilarious that the gift bag that he was carrying was a Father's Day themed bag, and I kind of gave him a hard time about it. You might remember that last year he wrapped my Christmas ornament with tissue paper that had graduation hats on it... he thought they were Christmas trees, so I figured that he had inadvertently grabbed the first gift bag he saw and had not realized that it had things like golf clubs and fishing poles on it.  :)  I came to find out that it was a gift bag meant to throw me off and to camouflage the bag inside...

When I began opening it, I saw that there was a gift bag inside. Though I have never recieved anything that color before, I recognized the Tiffany Blue bag instantly. I wasn't sure if it really was from that store, but I had a feeling from the look on Corey's face that it was. Inside the gift bag was a little Tiffany Blue box that was wrapped perfectly. My heart skipped a beat when I saw it. I never knew I wanted a box like that... but at that moment I was pretty sure that it was one of the best gifts ever. I opened it to find a beautiful silver locket inside. I love it!

~ the photo that Corey took of me with his phone that night at the restaurant ~

Corey really is a great gift giver! He buys me things that I don't even know that I want. Things that he thinks will make me feel special and loved.  He works hard to make me feel cherished.  I am very blessed that he has stuck with me for 17 years of better or worse. Thank you, Honey for the beautiful locket and for your commitment to our marriage no matter what. I love you!