The NFO (Nameless/Faceless One for her lack of desire to be called out or pictured on the blog) and I celebrate 7 years of matrimonial bliss today. (Here's our original love story)
Another year down of evidence that I am smarter than my wife (here's the proof).
The NFO has MANY strengths. One of them is an uncanny ability to purchase cards for an occasion, forget to use them, and then at some point in the future (even 2-3 years down the road), use it at the right moment.
We've gone over Carrying Cost, so we know her calculations are sound in holding on to them for a long timeframe.
I was pleased to receive a card today which was purchased for our anniversary last year and deployed today.
I guess that's better than what I did...which is not have a card or a gift at all.
The way I look at it, if I've been a good husband all year, I don't need to mark the anniversary and if I have to rely on an anniversary gift to tell her how much I appreciate her, well then, I've not done a good job during the other 364 days! :-)
It's interesting how your perceptions of marriage and what it means to be married change over time.
You realize more and more each day that it is the little things that make the difference and that "happily ever after" isn't a given, it's a process and a commitment. And you realize that it's not about 'being right' (and no, I'm not a sore loser because I'm way behind), it's about winning as a team.
Not easy. Definitely not easy. But worth it.
There's no doubt that the truism of "I married up" applies as much today as it did in Albany, NY 7 years ago. I am a blessed man.