It’s our anniversary today. Last year I went “whole hog” as my mother would say: an 8 foot card of all Kimberly’s attributes. This year things have gone the other direction–pork rinds so to speak. We’re both tired, worn down, stumbling through our days clinging to linty scraps of hope that we keep misplacing. My offering in celebration of 7 years of marriage was a handful of dry, leftover brownies I brought home from work and a love note scribbled on a slip of paper from our refrigerator grocery list pad. I left that for her to discover this morning when she got up.
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This is what real marriage is all about. If a couple’s relationship is threatened by what does or does not happen on their anniversary, they’re making that date carry far too much weight. You cannot make one day’s extravagance compensate for even a month of short-changing the relationship, and by the same token, a paltry celebration does not diminish a well-maintained heart connection. A marriage is built on daily choices–to listen, share, cry, laugh, trust, support–not on grand gestures. I’m very grateful for what Kimberly and I have.
Janathan Grace Reflections 