We know sexy

After 23 years of marriage, we know how to celebrate our anniversary. We go somewhere for a weekend, get good food, then walk for miles to work off that good food. And then we head back to the hotel room, get cozy under the sheets and map out our calendars for the rest of the year.*

Oh yes, friends. That is exactly how we spent the better part of last Saturday afternoon on our anniversary trip to Chicago - figuring out what the next three months of our lives look like.

As we looked out the window of our lovely hotel room that overlooked the Water Tower on the Magnificent Mile, I worked our master Google calendar on my laptop and Sean updated the calendar app on his phone. We cranked through Rebecca’s and Amy’s upcoming performances and our plans for the car show at Michael’s school. We mapped out a schedule for rehearsals for a children’s choir we’re starting at church. We wrote in the potential Saturday rehearsals for the Christmas choir. I reminded him of the bi-monthly meetings I have with a friend from church and he reminded me of the meal I need to provide for his work luncheon (that’s today!).

As a result of the calendar coordination I wrote a mile-long to-do list that I’ve been working through all week. And maybe, just maybe, I’ll finish it by the end of the year.

Or not.

Twenty-three years ago I never dreamed that coordinating calendars would happen on an anniversary trip. How unromantic. I also never dreamed I’d become a list-maker. How un-spontaneous. But after 23 years of marriage, getting our lives on the same page so our bodies end up in the right places feels spectacularly romantic to me. Sexy, even.

Happy Anniversary to my planner, who’s pulled me, ever so slightly, to the list-making dark side. I’ll gladly sit on the bed and make lists with you any day.


*For the record, we were on the couch. He'd have been at a desk if we'd had one. Please - you think the engineer could do that kind of work on the bed? But I couldn't pass up the opportunity to terrify my offspring - I'm sure they thought I'd say, “And who knows what else will come from that calendar-and-list-making session…” I do enjoy this part of motherhood.

The guy at my right shoulder is married to my sister. The guy on my left is married to Sean's sister. I thought they'd like a picture to remind them of their hair.

Other than a little piece of cake, we didn't eat at our reception. There were so many lovely people to talk to! We drove through Wendy's on the way to our hotel.