Anniversary #1

About two months ago, I had this great plan for our first anniversary: I was going to take Dave on a surprise trip to San Francisco.

We were going to stay downtown, drink ourselves silly at some wineries, gorge ourselves on great food, and generally overindulge on anything and everything -- exactly what a 1-year anniversary should be.

Aaaand then I got laid off.

Unfortunately for Dave, I revealed my big San Fran surprise about a week before layoffs. It kinda happened like this:


Dave: So, I was thinking about our anniversary dinner. We should go somewhere really nice.

Me: Agreed. I'll take care of it.

Dave: Okay, what are you thinking? What type of food?

Me: Um, I don't know...

Dave: No idea where you want to go?

Me: ...

Dave: What?

Me: Okay, fine, this was going to be a surprise, but I do have an idea of where we should go... San Francisco!

Cue Dave's ridiculous excitement and my feeling like a total badass.


Of course, taking an expensive trip just after being laid off isn't the most responsible idea, so we scrapped it.

Instead, for our anniversary, we threw on some jeans and went to Reza's, the first place we'd ever eaten in Chicago and the location of our rehearsal dinner. It was a beautiful night, so we sat by the big, open window and tore though a bottle of Red Zinfandel.

When we got home, we took out our year-old wedding cake and our low expectations, fully prepared to take one bite and then just trash the thing. Shockingly, it was still delicious -- chocolate cake, chocolate ganache, crushed raspberries. (Let's be honest, even if it WAS kinda bad, that's still a combination I can't walk away from.)

So, it was a low-key night, not unlike our usual nights together. That might seem like a sad thing when it comes to a celebration, but I don't think it is. Yes, jet-setting across the country would have been pretty sweet, but chilling at home with Dave isn't half-bad either. And that's really what this whole relationship thing is all about, when it comes down to it. Nothing glitzy, glamorous or over-the-top. Just us.

Happy anniversary, Dave. This write-up isn't as sweet as yours, but I think a fresh perspective on things is still a pretty good gift.