Anniversary thank-you's

Hubby and I celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary this week. I knew it was coming. It's not like it snuck up on me, but it seems that the busier our lives get, the less planning we do ahead of time anymore. Back in the day I would pick out a card at least a week in advance, write paragraph after paragraph of sappy sentences about love and whatnot, and the two of us would plan out how we wanted to celebrate, where we wanted to go and so on. We made it a big deal. However, these days, the plans basically happen the day of and are based on what all we have going on with our girls. We still get each other a card, but they lack all the sentimental paragraphs we used to write.

Anyway, this year I didn't get his card until late afternoon and as I was reading through my options at the store, I got to thinking, there's really no card in this store that truly tells him what I feel. Every card was about looking into each other's eyes and hearts still fluttering after years together, blah, blah, blah. I needed an anniversary card that was a little more real, more personal to us. A card that said thank you for putting up with me for 18 years and for all the little things he does that I take for granted. For instance, thank you for making my coffee every morning before work. He knows how grouchy I am when I first wake up and having coffee ready is a benefit to all of those who have to be around me at dawn. Thank you for always cleaning the bathroom drains. I just tell you when something is plugged and you clean it out, and you never complain.

Thank you for always saying you're sorry when you're snoring in the middle of the night. I shove you when you start and instead of shoving back or being mad for waking you up, you apologize. We both know if you wake me up in the middle of the night, I'm probably not going to say I'm sorry for anything. Thank you for always waiting up in the evenings with me. I know you get up earlier than me and you're exhausted by 9:00pm but yet you stay up with me till I'm ready for bed, just so we can spend a few minutes together at the end of the day.

Thank you for surprising me now and then with a donut on my desk at work when I arrive in the morning. Nothing better than walking in the office and see my favorite donut sitting there! Thank you for always mowing the lawn after a hard days work and in 108 degree weather while I stay inside where it's cool. Thank you for always taking care of our dogs and never complaining when they dig craters in the yard because I forgot to put them in the kennel.

Thank you for taking us out to the lake in the summers and loading and unloading the boat and doing all the driving while me and the girls hang out and have fun. You never get to be in the water but you never whine about any of it. Thank you for always eating whatever I fix for dinner even if, deep down, you hate it. You always thank me and never criticize how things are made. Thank you for giving up some of your favorite foods just because I don't like them and never think to make them.

Thank you for letting me watch my favorite TV drama and acting interested in it even though you'd rather be watching your car show. Thank you for changing your clothes without complaining if I give you a look of confusion or disappointment in your choice.

Most of all, thank you for working so hard every day to support me and the girls! Thank you for protecting all of us and providing more than we deserve! That's the anniversary card I couldn't find in the store. After 18 years of marriage, there may not be holding hands and staring into each other eyes, but the little daily things that couples do for each other that makes a marriage work.

Those are the things to be thankful for on an anniversary.