25 to Life

I am not an overly sentimental or sappy person. But, this quote from a video poem by Sandra Beasley, "The Story," shared by my friend and fellow writing circle member, Helen, got me feeling all gushy:

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As soon as I read it, I thought of John and me. Maybe it's because our 25th wedding anniversary is coming up Wednesday. I'm guessing that's it. Lately I've felt this rekindling of early relationship phase feelings.

Five years ago on our 20th anniversary, I presented John with a platinum wedding band (to replace his original since he had replaced my original 5 years earlier). He knew he was getting it because I wanted to make sure he loved it before I had it engraved.

I looked up our favorite song lyrics. I hemmed and hawed over what small phrase to have permanently etched on the inner circle of the band.

And, then, when I wasn't hemming or hawing at all, it came to me: 20 to life.

It's so "us."  We had joked around about serving life sentences, how some people act like marriage is a long punishment to be endured, how grateful we were that neither of us felt that way. So, the inside joke was what I wrote out on the order form for the engraver at Jared's (yes, SHE got it at Jared's). The salesperson chuckled and commented on how unique (complement or not, who knows) that was.

I had a winner. He thought---and still thinks---this was an ingenious way to sum "us" up. He writes on each card since then how many years he's into that sentence, how much he loves serving his time.

We do have a story, one that I hold dear even though I don't always reveal how much it means to me.

This year, I am surprising him with a really nice watch. After my epic fail at Christmas (a trendy black metal band with black face Movado), I am hoping I once again have a winner. Because to me, this man stands the test of time.

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