I’m the Number One Fan of the Man from Tennessee!

On April 28, Bill and I will have been married for 20 years!  But we got to celebrate early this year.  This past Thursday evening, Anna got invited for a sleepover at a friend’s house for the next night.  We realized that with Anna gone, we would have three out of four of our kids missing over Friday night.  Will was scheduled to be at the high school youth retreat, and Sam already had plans to stay at a friend’s house overnight.  So we quickly sent off an email to some friends from DA, the parents of one of Caleb’s friends, and asked if they would be willing to have Caleb on Friday night.  They sent an email back right away, agreeing, and suddenly we had Friday night all to ourselves!  Bill had found a nice looking restaurant online, and we decided to try it out, in celebration of our anniversary.

What a treat!  It was a truly elegant restaurant, and the food was outstanding.  After our appetizers, the waiter brought something in little tiny glasses – about the size of a shot glass – that looked kind of like whipped cream, but it was pinkish.  Next to that on the plate was a tiny ramekin with about two spoonfuls of chopped vegetables – tomatoes, squash, onions, etc.  After tasting the pink stuff we decided it was a tomato-flavored mousse.  It reminded us of a date we had, many years ago, before we were married.  Bill had taken me to the Escoffier restaurant at the Culinary Institute of America for my birthday.  They did the same thing there – brought us something on a tiny plate that we hadn’t ordered.  In that case, it was a small rectangle – about the size of a pat of butter – that was beige in color.  We weren’t sure what we were supposed to do with it – spread it on bread?  Eat it all by itself?  We chose the latter, and couldn’t figure out what it was!  Later, the waiter asked how we enjoyed our salmon mousse, so that’s when we realized what it was.  That’s the last time that happened to us, until our anniversary meal.  You know you’re in a fancy place when they bring you food you didn’t ask for.    It was a wonderful experience.

After dinner we watched a movie and enjoyed relaxing at home, and on Saturday we had fun looking at scrapbooks of our dating years, our wedding, and our anniversaries.  We realized that although we kept careful track of anniversary celebrations #1 – 10, we didn’t do that for the next 10.  We spent some time trying to figure that out, but we still have several gaps.  In any case, it was wonderful to look back and remember lots of special times together, as a couple and as the kids came along.  We are so thankful for the many ways God has blessed us!

And we are also thankful for the unexpected gifts of a free weekend evening and Mom and Dad’s anniversary check.  Thanks to everyone who made it possible for us to celebrate.  Happy Anniversary, Bill – here’s to the next 20.