The Anniversary (a return to happy posts)

Well, I figured we should end our marathon day of blog posts on a happy note. June 14th was Emily and my first year anniversary! It wasn't the biggest celebration, but it was a good one. I was lucky enough to have a coworker who had gotten married a couple weeks before us, so I learned something about anniversaries that I had never heard before: there are specific themes for each one! I'd never heard of the Paper Anniversary, but coming from someone who likes having an outline to help guide me what to do, I was intrigued.

We ended up both doing cards for each other with a nice little romantic not in them. Emily's card was musical and played the song we danced to during our First Dance. My card was handcrafted by The Sandman himself, using some borrowed crafts tools of Emily's. I also made a gift certificate to Michael's, one of Em's favorite stores... that way she could splurge on even more paper products. It's not my favorite place to go, but I've promised her a trip there without complaining. She's used the money to get a nice paper cutter, which I'll admit, is pretty cool.

Finally, I had sent Emily some carnations from a local florist. Apparently, carnations are the first anniversary flower, and although they're not usually my favorite flowers, these ones turned out beautiful. Em loves flowers, so it was wonderful to see her simultaneous look of surprise and happiness when they showed up.

We then went to play putt-putt golf. Now, I've always known Emily wasn't beyond fudging some numbers to help her win, so it didn't come as any surprise to me that it continued on to this game. I caught her hitting the ball twice several times before it had stopped, and she even picked it up, after it went wildly off of the hole we were playing, and placed it back on the green without counting it as a stroke penalty. However, I did keep track of all of these "plus" shots. Unfortunately, I didn't think I'd need them. That all changed when she hit a hole-in-one on one of the hardest holes at the end. If you add up the scores and only count her "pluses" as one shot, she won, however there were definitely times when the ball was rolling way backward down the hill where she stopped it and kept on playing. I hate that she'll get the last post on this matter, but just keep in mind that I'm a rule-follower and have never been known to cheat. Emily's record is shattered by one word, "Twister."

To cap off the day, we both hit the town and went to one of our favorite Tucson restaurants, Casa Vicente. It's an awesome place with live flamenco dancing, Spanish guitar players, sangria, and delicious tapas and paella. It couldn't have been a better day to spend with the girl I love, and I'm so glad I had a day off that weekend to spend with her.

So, having just had a sister get married, what kind of wisdom can I share that I've gained over the last year? I can honestly say it has been the best year of my life, despite being the hardest. I've learned that I depend on her so much, that I don't function well when she's not here... just ask her what state the house is in whenever she gets back from a trip I've not been on with her. We're an unbeatable team, and not only, this sounds cliche, is she the love of my life, she really is my best friend. I never thought I could love someone more than I did when I first said those words, but I honestly fall harder for her every day that we spend together. My morning's not complete without leaning over and giving her a kiss, unbrushed teeth and all, before I head off to work. She still makes my heart beat faster when she's around. I think were just as giddy together as when we first started dating, and I'm confident we can keep that up for at least a few more weeks... err... decades... err... centuries. I'm the happiest person in the world when I'm with her, and I hope you all have, or will have, someone to share your life with like that.

I love you Em, and I can't wait to spend our cotton anniversary together!