Anniversary

This particular writing challenge prompt almost coincided with our anniversary. It was off by a day, but I flipped the order of a couple of the prompts, saving the much less interesting one about fruit for tomorrow.

Your current relationship; if single, discuss that too:

Jeanine and I have been married for exactly three years now. Happy anniversary to us!

Strangely enough, we went to high school together, but didn’t know each other then. She remembers sitting behind me in algebra class. In fact, that’s how we re-met on a dating site – I got a message saying something like, “I think I sat behind you in Algebra class”. I never would have had a profile on a dating site in the first place, but after talking to a coworker who had tried it, the whole thing made sense. Online dating opens up a whole new world of people who you wouldn’t meet in your day to day life, which means you’re more likely to find somebody compatible.

Our first “date” was a walk along the trails at Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve, and that’s also where I proposed to her (no, not on our first walk together, but sometime later). That was in 2009. Now, in 2015, we’ve been married for three years, owned a house together for slightly longer, and we’re still going strong. The honeymoon period is over (due to various responsibilities, our actual honeymoon was a brief trip to nearby Carmel), but I find my love and appreciation for her still growing. I can only hope that this feeling continues to be reciprocated. Sometimes I feel like I could be a better husband – taking more initiative to get things done in a timely manner and things like that. There is always room for improvement, I guess.

She is quietly competent, owns her own business (she is a party entertainer, with balloon twisting and face painting being her specialties), likes the same kinds of pets I do (I got her a slightly dangerous spider for Christmas a couple of years ago, and she not only liked it, but named it George), puts up with my musical tastes (although occasionally raises her eyebrows and the piles of records and CDs that threaten to take over our living space) and odd hours, is completely unflappable, has a couple of cool kids (Eva is currently fourteen, and Steven is in his early twenties and doesn’t live with us). We’re both introverts, and both make our livings working with kids. She is also selfless and kind, and has as sense of humor compatible with mine. What’s not to love?

Her mom, Irene, lives with us too. She has mobility issues which are slowly getting worse. I know that for some, living with an in-law might sound hazardous, but I genuinely like her too.

Another important thing to mention is that neither of us drink or take any recreational drugs, which makes us part of a small minority. I never used to think that having a significant other who abstained from these substances was crucial for me, but now I realize it really is. She’s not a vegetarian though, but that’s okay. I wouldn’t want to marry somebody who was exactly like me in every way. That would be boring.

Here's to many more years!